


Yu-Gi-Ou-Hi!

by agirlinsearchof



Series: Yu-Gi-Ou-Hi! Multiverse [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Anime/Manga Fusion, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Electrocution, F/F, F/M, Fire, Foreshadowing, Gen, Gun Violence, Implied Femslash, Implied Relationships, Implied Slash, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Insomnia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Rule 63, Season Zero References, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series references, everyone is bi, pop culture references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 89
Words: 208,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23675350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlinsearchof/pseuds/agirlinsearchof
Summary: Tenth-grader Yugi Mutou always had her head in some game - until she solved the Millennium Puzzle, an Egyptian artifact containing the spirit of a master gambler from the age of Pharaohs! Possessed by the puzzle, Yugi becomes Yu-Gi-Ou-Hi, the Queen of Games, and challenges evildoers to the Shadow Games, games with high stakes and high risks!Genderflipped rewrite of Yu-Gi-Oh.
Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Original Character(s), Bakura Ryou/Original Female Character(s), Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi | Atem, Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner/Mutou Yuugi, One-sided Honda Hiroto | Tristan Taylor/Nosaka Miho, One-sided Mutou Yuugi/Bakura Ryou
Series: Yu-Gi-Ou-Hi! Multiverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704760
Kudos: 24





	1. Adventure Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi solves the Millennium Puzzle, but can she fight back against a bully much stronger than herself to save herself and her own bullies?

"It's lunch time! Let's play basketball!" a boy exclaimed.  
  
"We'll let the girls play too!" said another.  
  
A third boy, on his way out of the classroom, told a girl with long, messy hair, mostly black with violet tips, save for her blond, spiky bangs, "Hey Yugi, quit playing games by yourself and come play basketball for once." After a brief silence, the short teenage girl said, "That's okay... my team would just lose..." She was never particularly good at sports. She always preferred non-sport games, whether they be board games, video games, or any others that could be imagined. _I wish I could play my kind of games with someone,_ she thought. _I always bring a lot in my bookbag but... I know I'll finish that today! The puzzle I always carry around! My greatest treasure is in this box, but it has to be kept secret! This riddle is a hint! It's something you see, but have never seen before! The answer is..._  
  
That thought got interrupted, however, by a much taller girl, with short brown hair in a pompadour. "Whup!" she exclaimed, as she held the golden box above her head, where Yugi could not reach. "Heh heh... what are you talking to yourself about, Yugi? You win the prize for creepy! 'Your greatest treasure?!'"  
  
A blond girl with voluminous short hair added, in a disbelieving tone, "Something you see, but have never seen before?!" Yugi was all too familiar with who these girls were. The brunette was a girl named Hiroko Honda, and her blond companion was Katsuki Jounouchi. They were delinquents who constantly bullied Yugi.  
  
"Give it back, Honda! Give it back!" cried Yugi, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.  
  
"Jounouchi, pass!" Honda said, throwing the box to her.  
  
"Geez. Only a fool would cherish a box. Watching you makes me sick. It really pisses me off! So y'know, Yugi, I'm going to teach you how to be tough!" Holding the box above her head, Jounouchi taunted, "This box! Do you want the box back? Then gimme all you got!"  
  
"But I hate fighting and violence!" Yugi protested.  
  
"Oww. So loud!" mocked Jounouchi. "You got no guts."  
  
"Anyway, please return the box."  
  
"No way!" said Honda.  
  
"By the way, what's in the box?" Jounouchi asked to herself. "Let's take a peek!"  
  
"Y-you can look at it, but absolutely don't lose it! It's really important to me!" Yugi warned, panic becoming more and more evident in her voice, as sweatdrops formed on her forehead and her stomach churned.  
  
Jounouchi opened the box. "What? That's dumb," she said, upon seeing the contents. After closing the lid, she said, "Here, Honda," as she tossed it to her friend. Before Honda could catch the box, however, a boy caught it.  
  
"If it's so dumb, give it back to Yugi!" The voice was comfortingly familiar. It was Ansei Mazaki, a friend of Yugi's since childhood. He stood up for Yugi since so long ago. He could be pushy at times, but was a good person. And cute, too though Yugi would never say it out loud.  
  
"Mazaki!" Jounouchi and Honda cried out simultaneously, eyes widening.  
  
"Bullying the weaker people, you guys are the dumb ones! Get out of here!"  
  
"Damn you, nosy boy!" said Honda.  
  
"This isn't over! We'll remember you!" Jounouchi threatened.  
  
Once the delinquents were out of the room, Ansei set the box on Yugi's desk. "Here you go. It's something special, right?" Ansei said, in a gentle tone.  
  
"Thank you, Ansei. Wow, one word from you and they ran away!"  
  
"Their heads swell if you don't knock them down once in a while. You need to be tougher, Yugi." Sighing, his expression began to look annoyed. "All the guys here are like _that._ On the basketball court, I thought the guys were passing to the girls a lot... found out they were peeking when the girls made their shots! The jerks! I quit and came in! Some advice for you: Never play basketball in a skirt!" Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he asked, "By the way, Yugi, what is this?", pointing to the golden box that he had put on her desk earlier.  
  
"That's right, you haven't seen this yet, Ansei. If you promise to keep it a secret, I'll show you!"  
  
"Okay," said Ansei.  
  
Yugi opened the lid of the box, revealing a set of gold pieces in different shapes.  
  
"Wow! It's pretty! Sparkling gold... are these pieces of something? All broken up..."  
  
"It's a puzzle!" exclaimed Yugi. "I've never finished it, so I don't know what it looks like... so it's 'something you see, but have never seen before!' My family runs a game store, right? We sell unusual games from around the world. Years ago I found this way back on the shelf covered with dust, so I took it for myself. This puzzle is a memento of my grandma, so I like it especially well."  
  
_A memento..._ "Your grandma died, Yugi?!" Ansei asked, shocked. _I see... that really_ does _make it special..._  
  
Yugi continued on, seemingly not having heard Ansei. "They say this puzzle was found in an Egyptian ruin! See... There's these hieroglyphs carved around the box. I bet they say something like this... 'Whoever solves this puzzle shall be granted one wish...' Like the Dragon Balls... y'know what I mean? Ha ha... maybe I'm dreaming." Realizing something, Yugi said, "Urk... are you laughing at me? That look? I've only told you, Ansei... don't tell on me... this is a secret..."  
  
"I get it, Yugi! Trust me!" Ansei snapped. Yugi could be so sensitive, sometimes. A lot of times, now that he thought about it.  
  
"But this puzzle is major hard. I've been working on it for eight years and I've never solved it!” _Kind of depressing,_ she mentally added.  
  
"Don't give up, Yugi! Your heart is in it!" Ansei said encouragingly.  
  
"Yup!" Yugi said, smiling. "I'll do my best!"  
  
"...So what is it? Your wish?"  
  
"No way," Yugi said, giggling. "That is absolutely positively secret!" Super top secret! Vacuum sealed for eternal storage!  
  
Outside, in the hallway, Jounouchi and Honda were walking. "Damn, he makes me mad!" Jounouchi fumed.  
  
"Who's a bully?" a tall, menacing figure asked.  
  
"Uh... Jounouchi, that would be us!" Honda whispered in a panic. The figure approached them.  
  
It was none other than the hall monitor, Tetsuko Ushio. She was even taller and even more muscular than Jounouchi and Honda, with thick dark hair, a square jaw, and very prominent eyebrows. Honda could not form any words. "What were you saying about bullies...?" Ushio asked menacingly.  
  
"Nothing!" Jounouchi lied. "Keep out of this, you..."  
  
"It's nothing, nothing..." Honda added, clapping her hand over Jounouchi's mouth so she could not say anything incriminating.  
  
"Picking on people is bad!" Ushio said.  
  
"Yes! That is so true!" Honda said, panic rising in her voice.  
  
When Ushio left, Honda began to scold her friend. "Jounouchi! Who do you think you're picking a fight with? That's that ogre of a hall moniter Ushio! She makes all the rules at school! Even the teachers are too scared of her to say anything!"  
  
"Is she gone?" Honda murmured to herself, looking on both sides of the hallway. "She's gone..." she said, relieved. She removed her hand from Jounouchi's mouth.  
  
Gasping, Jounouchi complained, "You jerk! I couldn't breathe!"  
  
_That was close,_ thought Honda. "Ushio! I'm gonna get you someday!" yelled Jounouchi. The two of them continued down the hallway.  
  
"Damn, life is so dull!" Honda complained when they were well out of earshot of Ushio.  
  
"Oh?" asked Jounouchi, a smirk on her face. "I've got something interesting..."  
  
"Huh? What?" asked Honda. Jounouchi opened her palm to reveal a small chunk of gold with an eye engraved on it. "What's that?"  
  
"Something I snuck out of Yugi's treasure box!" Jounouchi said, smirk widening. "I just got a glimpse, but it looked like a puzzle! So if she's missing this piece, she can't solve it!"  
  
"Wow! Good work, Jounouchi!" Honda congratulated.  
  
"Now I'll take this and..." Jounouchi said, pulling her arm back, "do this!" She had chucked the piece out of the window, so it would land in the pool.  
  
"Bwa ha ha ha ha! That's great!"  
  
_Hmph! Treasure..._ thought Jounouchi. She talks like a moron! That's what annoys me!  
  
"Let's go!" said Honda.  
  
At the end of the school day, the teacher said, "Bye! See you tomorrow!"  
  
"Okay! Let's get home and finish that puzzle," Yugi said to herself.  
  
As she prepared to walk out of the building, a tall figure approached her.  
  
"You're Yugi, aren't you?" The figure was Ushio.  
  
"Yes?" Yugi said, slightly worried.  
  
"I'm Ushio, the hall monitor. I want to ask you something." Yugi was unsure of this.  
  
"Are you being bullied by certain students in your class?" Ushio asked.  
  
Yugi chose to feign ignorance. "Whaaaa? Nothing like that happens to me."  
  
"Hold on!" Ushio said. "Victims often defend their attackers! I've been investigating! Heh heh! You can stop worrying, Yugi! I'll be your bodyguard from now on!"  
"Huh... uh... er..." was all Yugi could say. "I... There's really nothing going on so... see you later... Thanks though..." As Yugi left, a smirk formed on Ushio's lips. _Heh heh... I've found a good dupe!_  
  
_What was all that about... weirdo..._ Yugi thought.

  
  
  
Yugi got home to the Kame Game Shop at sunset. "I'm ho-"  
  
"Yugi!"  
  
"Ah, Ansei!"  
  
"Heh, it's been a long time since I came over to play," Ansei said teasingly. They used to go to each other's houses all the time when they were little kids. That had eventually ceased in middle school.  
  
"Hey!" Yugi said.  
  
An elderly woman with a strong resemblance to Yugi approached them. "Welcome!" she said. The elderly woman was Sugako Mutou, Yugi's grandmother.  
  
Ansei let out a scream of fear. "Ah, it's Ansei!" exclaimed Sugako. "That's cruel, seeing my face and screaming..." she said, with a tone of disappointment.  
  
"A while ago, Yugi said you gave her a memento!" Ansei explained, clearly still in shock from seeing the old woman.  
  
"Ohh..." said Yugi, realizing the implications of calling something a memento. "I meant that it will _someday_ be a memento!"  
  
"Anyway, Ansei, it's been a while since I saw you here. You've grown..." As Sugako said this, she had a wistful look in her eye, remembering when Ansei was but a wee lad.  
  
"Ansei! I'm taking the puzzle to my room!" Yugi announced.  
  
"What, Yugi, you still haven't given up on that puzzle?" asked Sugako. "That Millennium Puzzle is beyond human intelligence! That thing has a history of a variety of things..."  
  
"History..." Ansei murmured, clearly scared.  
  
"The Millennium Puzzle was found early this century. A British excavation team took it from a Pharaoh's tomb in The Valley of the Kings. And those who found it, afterwards, all had died mysterious deaths..." Sugako said ominously. "In the last one's final moments, he said, 'Shadow Games...'"  
  
"Yugi, that puzzle sounds dangerous," Ansei said, sweat forming on his face.  
  
"What's a 'Shadow Game'? Sounds cool," Yugi said nonchalantly.  
  
"They say the symbols engraved on this box say, 'To the one who controls me, I will give wisdom and power of darkness..."  
  
"The wish will come true, after all!" Yugi said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the ominousness of her grandmother's words.  
  
"Give it back!" Sugako said. "It'll sell at a high price!"  
  
"You just want to sell it!" Yugi said.  
  
"Give it back!"  
  
"No way! This is my memento of you, grandma!"  
  
"I knew it, you're going to kill me!"  
  
Ansei could only stare in silence.  
  
Later that night, Yugi was about to complete the puzzle she had been trying to solve for over half her life. It was going to get a bit tough. She fell asleep trying to solve the puzzle, as she did every night for the past eight years.  
  
  
The next day, Yugi was in class. Almost everyone had gone outside to play outside, but she remained in the classroom. She was tired from working on the puzzle late last night.  
  
"Yugi!" called a familiar voice. Oh, crap. It was Ushio. She walked with Yugi outside the school building.  
  
"Ushio... what do you want to show me?" Yugi asked, fear more obvious in her voice than she would like.  
  
"Heh heh... just come with me. I know you'll like it..."  
  
Eventually, Yugi dared to peek her head around Ushio's body. And the sight was horrible.  
  
Honda and Jounouchi were beaten up, sitting with their backs to the wall. Both had bruised faces, and Honda's nose was bleeding.  
  
"Jounouchi! Honda! What in the world?"  
  
"I told you Yugi... I'm your bodyguard!"  
  
"T-that's... Ushio! This is too much!" Yugi turned to Jounouchi. "A-are you alright, Jounouchi?! Honda!"  
  
"Yugi... you bastard. Are you happy now...?" Jounouchi asked, voice hoarse.  
  
"It's not true! You think I asked her to do this?!"  
  
"Move it, Yugi," Ushio yelled. "I'm not finished punishing them!" She then kicked Jounouchi in the gut.  
  
"Stop!" Yugi yelled, stepping between Ushio and Jounouchi.  
  
"What's this?! Are you protecting them, Yugi? You're a strange one. This is your chance to get back for everything! Hit them! Kick them!"  
  
"I can't do that to my friends!" Yugi cried out, hands balled up into fists.  
  
'Ha ha ha ha... You're a real winner. You call them your friends? These are the girls who pick on you every day!"  
  
"They weren't picking on me... they were teaching me to be tough."  
  
"Well, whatever! But remember, Yugi! You still have to pay what you owe! Bodyguard charges... 200,000 yen!  
  
"What?!" Yugi cried out, sweat forming on her face. "200,000 yen?!"  
  
"Heh heh... for 200,000 yen you can hit these girls all you want... you can take out your daily troubles on them. I think it's a good deal..." There was a pause.  
  
"What's this? You aren't satisfied until I hurt them even more?" Another pause.  
  
"Don't touch these two anymore! If you're going to hurt someone, hurt me!" Jounouchi was shocked at Yugi's selflessness.  
  
"You're beyond strange, you're crazy... alright then, as you wish... I'll show you what will happen if you don't pay up!" Ushio punched Yugi in the face. Yugi could feel the pain on her cheek. The next thing she knew, hard concrete met the other side of her face. She could barely get up.  
  
Thoughts were rushing through Jounouchi's head as she attempted to get up. _W-why... why are you doing this? If you stayed quiet like always... if you didn't resist... you wouldn't get hurt... you're protecting us?! Yugi!_  
  
Yugi had made a wish on the puzzle last night. She could remember the thought clear as day. _I wish for friends... friends I can count on! Friends who can count on me! No matter what!_  
  
"Well, I'll leave it at this," said Ushio. "Bring the money tomorrow! Got it?! 200,000 yen! Break your promise and that pain won't be all you get!" Ushio walked off laughing.  
  
_Damn Ushio..._ thought Yugi. _She keeps getting more villainous! But I can't do anything... she's so big and powerful... I couldn't beat her in a hundred years... damn, I can only give her the money..._  
  
That night, Yugi counted all her money. 1,656 yen. Not nearly enough. Where would she get that much money? She suddenly realized that she was putting the puzzle together.  
  
_Ah! What am I doing working on the puzzle? This isn't the time for that..._ But as Yugi worked on the puzzle, her mind began to clear. She was almost done with the puzzle. But then it hit her.  
  
She was missing the last piece. She searched all over her room. Nothing. _My wish will never come true!_ she thought. Sugako came upstairs to Yugi's room.  
  
"I'm amazed!" Sugako exclaimed. "You finished the Millennium Puzzle!"  
  
"No," Yugi corrected her, eyes welling up. "I couldn't finish it after all, Grandma..."  
  
"Let's see. Ho ho. Yugi... you've poured your heart into this puzzle for the last eight years..." Sugako assessed. Uncurling her fist, she presented Yugi with the final piece, saying, "Your wish will be granted!"  
  
"G-Grandma... thank you! You found it for me!" Yugi exclaimed, hugging her grandma.  
  
"Yugi... I wasn't the one who found it. A friend of yours just came by. She asked me to give that to you. Even though it wasn't raining, she was soaking wet." Yugi wondered who that could have been. Nonetheless, she was grateful.  
  
_She told me everything... said she was Jounouchi... asked me not to tell you her name... I was worried about the bruises on your face, but... she told me a thug called Ushio is threatening you. Yugi... the money is in your bag... if this can help you stay out of trouble..._  
  
"Good night, Yugi!"  
  
"Thank you Grandma. Good night."  
  
Yugi went upstairs to her room. _I'm finally going to complete the Millennium Puzzle!_ The final piece went in with a click.  
  
_Ho ho ho..._ thought Sugako. _I'm amazed that she finished the Millennium Puzzle... but, that's my granddaughter... it's written in The Book of the Dead that the one who solves that puzzle inherits the Shadow Games. They become the guardian of right and pass judgement onto evil._  
  
When Yugi solved the Millennium Puzzle, lights seemed to enter her eyes. She began to transform. Her eyes grew sharper, fiercer, prouder. Some of her blonde bangs began to stick up. Her very personality even seemed to alter. _Hoho... apparently, some delinquent named Ushio has been causing trouble..._  
  
  
Thirty minutes later, Ushio showed up in front of Domino High School. _I was surprised that Yugi called me out here. Seriously? And I'm at the school at midnight._  
  
Suddenly, Ushio saw Yugi on one of the vaulting obstacles nearby. "Good, you came, Ushio." Her voice sounded deeper and slightly menacing, a psychotic-looking smile on her face.  
  
"Ho- I've gotta hand it to ya!" Ushio said. "Listen, you'll pay up, and that'll lighten my mood. I don't understand what costume you're wearing... well, whatever! Hurry up and hand it over!"  
  
Yugi, or rather, the _other_ Yugi, smirked. "It's right here... and I've raised it to 400,000 yen." Ushio grinned.  
  
"But this much money... it wouldn't be any fun to just hand it over..." Yugi said. "So, how about you play a game with me!"  
  
_A game?_ Ushio thought. Was this kid serious?  
  
"Not just any game," Yugi continued, as though reading her mind. "A Shadow Game! How about it? If you win, you get more than 200,000 yen! Not bad, eh?"  
  
_Interesting,_ Ushio thought. Greed began to fill her mind. She began to grin.  
  
"We need just one tool to play this game. That knife you've got hidden, Ushio!" The delinquent handed it over.  
  
"OK, everything's prepared!"  
  
_Money and a knife?_ Ushio thought. _What game can we play with these...?_  
  
"I'll explain the rules," said Yugi. "The players take turns putting the money on top of their hand and stabbing it with the knife. The player only keeps the money that the knife stabs. And they must always take more than one bill. The game continues until the last bill is gone! The challenge is to take as much money as possible. If a player tries to take the money by hand, or quit the game in the middle, they lose and forfeit all their money to the opponent. Doesn't that sound interesting?"  
  
Ushio chuckled darkly. "Huh! It's just a test of courage..." _I-is this really Yugi?!_ Ushio thought.  
  
"But," Yugi continued, "if you break the rules, as punishment the penalty game decides your fate!"  
  
"Heh heh... interesting," said Ushio. "Let's get started then!"  
  
"We'll do rock, paper, scissors for it."  
  
"Paper!" Yugi said.  
  
"Rock!" Ushio said.  
  
"Then I'll start," Yugi said. She stabbed the knife downward. "Whew!" she said. "I didn't even get ten bills. I thought I'd put my strength into it, but they're not easy to stab. OK, your turn!"  
  
Ushio made a "tch" sound under her breath.  
  
"If you use too much force you'll stab yourself. The point of this game is to control your greed!"  
  
Ushio made a "ngh" sound, sweat forming on her face. If she wasn't careful... she stabbed downward.  
  
She chuckled. "Look! Over 100,000 yen! And not a mark on my hand! I should have stabbed harder!" she bragged. Her mouth broke into a wide grin.  
  
"Not bad!" said Yugi. "But it gets harder to control your strength with each turn." She chuckled, then made another downward stab with the knife. Several turns later, she warned, "There's not a lot of money left... The game is almost over!"  
  
_There's nothing to this game!_ Ushio thought to herself arrogantly. "The rest of this money is mine!" she exclaimed out loud, sure of her victory. She chuckled to herself. She had this in the bag! Her heart was racing so hard, she could practically hear it. She stabbed downward. But something was wrong. "Ah... ah... ahh..." _What's wrong...? I'm using too much strength... My right arm isn't listening to my brain! This is bad! My right arm is trying to swing down with all its strength! I'm aiming for the money and my left hand together!_ "Ah... ahh..."  
  
Yugi was very aware of Ushio's conundrum. "In the Shadow Games, a person's true nature is revealed to decide their fate! Ushio! Your right arm is controlled by your own greed. You can no longer stop it. What will you do? Will you sacrifice your left hand to get the money, or...?"  
  
Ushio chuckled, interrupting Yugi's speech. "The answer is simple! There is a way I can take a stab, without hurting my left hand and getting all of the money! You let me hold this knife! That's why you lose! Die, Yugi!" She attempted to stab her. She dodged, jumping, quite literally, several feet into the air.  
  
"Just as I thought," said Yugi, a golden stylized wdjat forming on her forehead. "You weren't able to follow the rules after all!"  
  
Ushio panicked. "W-what the...? Your forehead... that eye!"  
  
"This is only seen by those who trespass in my soul! Like those who hurt my friends and try to steal my money!" Yugi boomed, a small but psychotic-looking smirk forming on her face. "Penalty game! The Illusion of Avarice!" she announced. Ushio screamed. The screaming eventually subsided when Ushio saw something falling in front of her. "Money..." she whispered. "Oh wow! It's money! Money, money! Money everywhere!" she yelled out in joy.  
  
"Let me tell you something," the other Yugi admonished. "If all you care about is money, in your eyes, only the illusion of your desire will be reflected!" Ushio continued yelling in joy about money. "Indeed, since you're so greedy, this must be a happy end for you!" She chuckled. "And I've gotten all my money back."  
  
  
The next morning, a crowd had gathered in front of a tree, where Ushio still sat, raving about money.  
  
"Does... does she think those leaves are money?" a student asked.  
  
"Not just leaves," another student added. "Gah... There's garbage, too!"  
  
"Hn... I don't remember what happened after I finished the puzzle last night..." Yugi said to herself. Realizing what she said, she grasped the puzzle, now around her neck. "That's it, the puzzle was finally completed!" _My treasure..._ she thought to herself.  
  
"Yo, Yugi," Jounouchi said.  
  
"Ah, Jounouchi!" exclaimed Yugi.  
  
"Your wounds... are you all right?" Jounouchi asked, concern on her face.  
  
"Fine," said Yugi. "And you, Jounouchi?"  
  
"This is nothing. Happens all the time. Hey Yugi! I also brought a treasure! Want to see?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Jounouchi laughed. "Sorry. I'll give you a hint! It's 'something you can show, but can't see'!"  
  
_Something you can show, but can't see?_ Yugi thought to herself, confused. "What is it?" asked Yugi.  
  
"It's friendship! You and I can be seen, but our friendship cannot be seen!"  
  
"Yeah!" Yugi said, the riddle finally clicking.  
  
"Well, come on, we've got to get to class!" _Grr... Why am I saying such embarrassing things today..._ Jounouchi thought. She began running off to class.  
  
"Ah, Jounouchi! You dropped your shoe!" Yugi cried out, chasing after Jounouchi with a shoe in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Added italics, because I apparently need to add them manually.
> 
> EDIT II: Corrected some capitalization, punctuation, and a few words. Also, editing on mobile is hell.


	2. Cooked Crook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ansei has been acting strangely lately... Yugi and Jounouchi investigate! But when their trip to a restaurant causes them to run into an escaped convict, can they make it out alive?

At Domino City Jail, a criminal had escaped. She shot a guard, using a pistol smuggled in via a hollow book. She made her way to Domino City. The stars were in her favor. Whatever she did, couldn't go wrong. Right?  
The next day, Jounouchi stood up at her desk at Domino High School, stretched, and yawned. "Ahhh... It's finally over!" she said. "School is so dull. Hey, Yugi, wanna get something to eat on the way home?"  
  
"That sounds good," said Yugi. "How about the new Burger World that opened in Domino City? Everyone says their burgers are great!"  
  
Ansei, who was standing nearby, overheard their conversation.  
  
"Awright, Burger World it is!" exclaimed Jounouchi."  
  
"Ah, um, Yugi..." said Ansei, nervously. "About that Burger World..."  
  
"You coming too, Ansei?" asked Yugi excitedly.  
  
"No way!" said Ansei. "I've heard that place is terrible! Really! You absolutely can't go there!" His face looked panicked.  
  
"Huh, really?" asked Yugi, confused. "I guess we won't. Funny. I heard it was good..."  
  
"Right, that's the _last_ place you want to go!"  
  
"Then let's go to the calorie burger in front of the station!" suggested Yugi.  
  
"Sorry! I have chores to do today," said Ansei. "And anyway, there's an escaped convict running around. We have to go straight home!"  
  
"Ack! That's right!" exclaimed Yugi. "The jailbreak! I forgot!"  
  
"What, are you scared?" asked Jounouchi. "You have no guts!"  
  
"But he has a _gun! A gun!_ "  
  
"Later then!" said Ansei. He walked into the hallway. Once out of sight of everyone, he let out a sigh of relief. _That was close,_ he thought.  
  
Back in the classroom, Jounouchi narrowed her eyes, looking in the direction Ansei had exited. "Yugi... Hasn't Ansei been acting strange lately?"  
  
"Now that you mention it, he hasn't walked home with us recently..." said Yugi.  
  
"If my instincts are correct..." said Jounouchi, "I think Ansei may be having some problems at home..."  
  
"What kind of problems?" asked Yugi.  
  
"I think he may have depression."  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
"One symptom of depression is not enjoying things you used to. Perhaps Ansei is feeling so low, he doesn't want to walk home with us!"  
  
"But then wouldn't we find other symptoms?"  
  
"Well, you see, Yugi, depressed people are often very good at hiding their symptoms. Let's follow Ansei and see what he's up to!"  
  
"J-Jounouchi, I don't think that's a very good – "  
  
"Just follow me!" said Jounouchi.  
  
The two of them eventually caught up with Ansei. They stayed a good distance behind, so as not to get caught.  
  
Ansei glanced behind himself.  
  
Thankfully, they were able to hide themselves in time.  
  
Ansei walked into a door on the back of a building. Yugi and Jounouchi walked around to the front.  
  
"B-Burger World...?" murmured Jounouchi.  
  
"Why...?" asked Yugi, whether to herself or to Jounouchi, she wasn't sure.  
  
The two walked closer to the building. They were greeted by... Ansei?  
  
Smiling, Ansei cheerfully exclaimed, "Hello! Welcome to Burger World! Let me show you to..." His smile and speech faltered as he finished the sentence with "your... seats..." He recognized the girls in front of him. Yugi and Jounouchi. Crap. Why were they here?! _Damn! They followed me!_ he thought. _After-school jobs are against school rules! I'll be expelled! And it's that blabbermouth Jounouchi who found out!_  
  
Yugi and Jounouchi made their way to their seats.  
  
"Jounouchi, we shouldn't have come here..." said Yugi.  
  
Jounouchi chuckled. "No wonder he didn't want us to go to Burger World... Awright, I've got his secret!"  
  
Ansei arrived at their table and slammed the tray down. "Please enjoy our burgers with _plenty_ of our famous ketchup!" he said, squirting _far_ too much ketchup on the burgers. Yugi and Jounouchi looked down at the tray. Written in ketchup was the phrase, "Tell and you die!" He walked off with a "Hmph!"  
  
"Uh-oh..." said Yugi.  
  
"Hey, Ansei! Cool it!" said Jounouchi.  
  
"Well," said Ansei, suddenly calmer than before, "Now that you know I'm working here... I have nothing else to hide... I'm saving up my money! I'm going to America when I graduate!"  
  
Yugi and Jounouchi looked surprised.  
  
"I'm going to study dance in New York!" he exclaimed. "It's my dream! Don't you dare laugh!" He knew that in some circles, dance was considered a 'girly' hobby, but he didn't care.  
  
"W-w-we would never laugh!" said Yugi. "Right, Jounouchi?"  
  
"Don't worry, Ansei!" said Jounouchi. "We won't tell on you!"  
  
Changing tone, Jounouchi said, "But this restaurant makes you pay for burgers drowned in ketchup?! This stuff's nasty!"  
  
"Don't worry! Those are on me!" said Ansei.  
  
Just outside the building, the escaped convict was running. _Damn,_ she thought. _My throat is parched, can't go on... I need my cigs... I need a drink!_ She looked up. Just across the road, there was a Burger World. _Hey, there's a drivethrough over here! Luck is on my side! Yahoo!_ She walked across the road.  
Back in the restaurant, Yugi and Jounouchi were having a conversation when somebody entered. The person was a woman with short, scraggly blond hair and the number 777 tattooed on her forehead.  
  
"Welcome!" exclaimed Ansei. "Are you by yourself?" he asked.  
  
"I'm by myself all right," she said with a dark grin. "That's why I'm so lonely."  
  
Suddenly, she grabbed a hold of Ansei, keeping one hand on his mouth and holding a gun to his head. "Awright!" she yelled. "Anyone makes a sound and this boy dies!"  
  
Ansei's eyes widened.  
  
Yugi turned towards the voice that had made the threat. "Ansei!" he yelled upon seeing the situation her friend was in.  
  
"Ack! It's the escaped prisoner!" yelled one patron. Another let out a "Yeeek!"  
  
"Shaddup all of you!" yelled 777. She then chuckled. "I'm not staying here long! As soon as I get something to eat, I'm gone! But until then, you stay with me!"  
Ansei let out a muffled sound of protest.  
  
"Not a peep or you die!" said 777. Handing Ansei a handkerchief, she instructed Ansei to "blindfold yourself with this cloth! I hear when humans can't see, they're so terrified they can't make a sound. They do the same to prisoners right before they execute them! I should know, I'm on death row..." She chuckled once more.  
  
"That bastard," said Jounouchi.  
  
 _Ahh..._ thought Ansei. _Is everything going to end here?!_ Ansei thought. _Somebody help me!_  
  
 _Ansei..._ thought Yugi. _W-what should I do..._  
  
"Now, someone's gotta take my orders..." said 777. "Who should I choose...?" Pointing her gun at the shortest one of the bunch, she said, "You! The puny little one! You're the one!"  
  
Yugi's eyes widened.  
  
"Yugi...!" said Jounouchi.  
  
"Everyone else get on the floor and close your eyes! If one of you moves an _inch,_ this boy is dead!"  
  
 _Dammit,_ thought Jounouchi. _That lowlife! Taking Ansei as a hostage!_  
  
"First off, give me some booze!" said 777. "Then cigarettes! Lucky Stripes! The perfect brand for a lucky gal like me!" She laughed out loud.  
  
Yugi delivered 777's order.  
  
 _H-hold on..._ thought Ansei. _What this woman just said... "Puny little one..." It couldn't be... Yugi!_ Out loud, he said, "Yugi, it's you, isn't it?! Stay back! It's too dangerous!"  
  
777 slapped Ansei across the face with a "Shut your damn mouth!"  
  
"Ansei!" yelled Yugi, eyes widening. Her vision went dark.  
  
 _How dare you do that to my friend Ansei...!_ thought Yugi. _Your luck ran out when you chose me!_  
  
Yugi set the bottle down, and sat in the seat across from 777. She chuckled. "I've brought you what you asked for!" she said.  
  
"You...!" said 777. "Who said you could sit down?!" The audacity of that kid!  
  
"I just thought I'd help you pass the time... Let's play a game... If you've got any guts!"  
  
 _A... a game?! Huh?! Is this the same wimp I called out?_ The little brat had guts, she'd give her that.  
  
 _This voice..._ thought Ansei. _Yugi...?! No! It sounds similar, but it's different! It can't be! This confident voice can't be Yugi! I don't know who it is, but she's crazy to talk like that to someone holding a gun!_  
  
"Well... A game..." said 777, amused. She put a cigarette in her mouth. "This could be fun..."  
  
"However..." said Yugi, "the one to lose this game will die!"  
  
"Isn't this interesting..." said 777. "Let's hear the rules..." She started pouring herself a drink. _Heh heh heh... This kid must have some mental problem... Does she think this gun is a toy? One twitch of my finger on the trigger and she's done for..._  
  
 _Damn... this person is in the way!_ thought Jounouchi. _I can't see anything! But it's so quiet... What's going on?_  
  
"This game has just one rule," said Yugi.  
"Then let's hear it!" said 777, chuckling.  
"As long as we sit at this table facing each other..." said Yugi, "we may each move only one of our ten fingers! And once the game starts, that finger cannot change! But we are free to choose any finger we like. Which finger do you choose?"  
777 chuckled mirthlessly. "I choose my index finger, of course. This finger is all I need to pull the trigger and blow you away!"  
"Okay!" said Yugi, sounding oddly confident for someone who had just been threatened with a gun. "Then I choose my thumb!"  
 _Heh heh heh..._ thought 777. _This kid is an idiot! What can she do with one thumb? I'll send her to hell in an instant!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong... right?  
"After the signal to start, we are free to do anything. You can even pull the trigger!" She readied herself. "Game start!"  
  
777 prepared to pull the trigger. It was then that she noticed that the wimp was holding a lighter.  
  
"Tch... Right! I forgot to ask for a lighter..." said 777. "Wasn't allowed to smoke on the inside... Forgot all about it... Okay, the last thing you can do is use your thumb to light my cigarette... I'll kill you after that!"  
  
Yugi did exactly that, and then loosened her grip just enough to drop the lighter on 777's hand. The hand that was pouring the now-overflowing alcohol. The alcohol that was now spilling onto her pants.  
  
"You can keep the lighter!" she said. "Take it with you... to hell!"  
  
"Huh?!" said 777, confused. She then realized her situation. _I... I can't move! If I drop the lighter, I'll set the vodka on fire!_  
  
"Just try firing your gun! The recoil will make you drop the lighter for sure!" Yugi then added, "And by the way, that's Russian vodka. It's 180 proof... 90% alcohol!" Running for the exit, she grabbed Ansei by the hand, saying, "Let's go, Ansei!" as 777 started screaming behind them. Jounouchi fled with them as well.  
  
Things did, in fact, horribly, horribly wrong for 777. Eventually, her trembling hand caused the lighter to slip. It fell onto the vodka, setting the drink on fire. The fire spread to her clothes. She was a goner. She screamed in pure agony.  
  
Ansei removed his blindfold and saw Yugi in front of him. "Yugi..." he said.  
  
"A-Ansei!" said Yugi. "I'm so glad you're safe, Ansei!"  
  
 _Who was that girl...?_ thought Ansei. _Who saved me?_  
  
"Yo, you made it!" exclaimed Jounouchi, briefly interrupting Ansei's thoughts. "What an idiot! The prisoner set herself on fire!"  
  
"Jounouchi!" exclaimed Yugi, running up to hug her friend.  
  
 _I'll never forget that voice,_ thought Ansei. _After all, I've fallen in love with its owner!_ This admittedly sounded silly, like some sort of fairytale fantasy, but it was true. He recalled what the mysterious girl sounded like...


	3. Beneath the Mask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jounouchi has started a scheme to help Honda ask out Mikio, the boy she likes! But things start to go wrong when the substitute teacher shows up...

A day had passed since the incident at Burger World. Yugi couldn't remember anything herself, but apparently a convicted criminal had died of fourth-degree burns while she was there. She was slightly worried. Had she set the criminal on fire? She _had_ been the one handling the alcohol (highly flammable) and the lighter for the criminal's cigarettes... But how would she have set her on fire? It probably had to do with those two factors...  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jounouchi's voice.  
  
"Hey, Yugi!" she said.  
  
"Hey, Jounouchi! Are you heading home?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Honda, who had been walking next to Jounouchi, glared down at Yugi. Yugi didn't like her that much. Honda always made her carry her stuff and buy dirty magazines for her.  
  
"Good thing you're here, Yugi," said Jounouchi. "We've got an idea to discuss with you!"  
  
Yugi was shocked. What kind of scheme were those two up to this time?  
  
"Jounouchi! You're going to ask Yugi?!" asked Honda, face twisted in shock... and a faint blush on her face? What was going on?  
  
"Sure I am," said Jounouchi.  
  
"You're kidding! Not her!" Honda yelled.  
  
"Take it easy," said Jounouchi. Yugi noted the irony of the statement. Usually it would be _Honda_ saying it to _Jounouchi,_ not the other way around. "You said you'd leave it to me!"  
  
_Something to discuss? About Honda?_ Yugi thought, confused.  
  
"Just you try asking Yugi! She's going to tell everyone!" said Honda. "She's got a grudge against me!" Honda was sure of this. If someone picked on her as long as she and Jounouchi had picked on Yugi, she would _certainly_ hold a grudge.  
  
"Honda!" said Jounouchi. "Yugi's not like that! I promise!" Jounouchi had spent time hanging out with Yugi. She knew that Yugi did not have a bitter bone in her body. She was an absolute sweetheart, despite what she had gone through with Jounouchi and Honda. Turning to Yugi, she said, "You'll keep a secret, won't you, Yugi? Between the three of us!"  
  
"Of course!" said Yugi. "I won't tell!"  
  
"Truth is..." Jounouchi said, "Honda's in love!"  
  
"Aaaaaghh!" said Honda, covering her eyes with her hands. "Don't tell Yugi!" This was _deeply_ embarrassing. She was supposed to be Hiroko Honda, one of the toughest delinquents around! Not Hiroko Honda, lovesick fool!  
  
Yugi stood there in silence.  
  
"You laughed! You laughed, didn't you?!" yelled Honda, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth.  
  
"I-I-I d-didn't l-l-laugh..." stuttered Yugi between shakes. Honda was strong! Or maybe Yugi was just that light...  
  
"The boy is Mikio Nosaka in our class!" said Jounouchi. "You know, the student librarian. He's really shy."  
  
_Ahh, Mikio,_ thought Honda. Upon realizing that she had, in fact, said that out loud, she cleared her throat. What had gotten into her?! _Yeesh, you're getting mushy,_ she thought to herself.  
  
"Well, anyway," said Jounouchi, ignoring Honda's lovestruck utterance, "even though this _dimwit_ doesn't have a chance of being with Mikio, she's fallen head over heels in love with him. So, what we wanted to talk about was... she needs a present to get his attention! Y'know, your store sells all sorts of weird stuff, right?"  
  
"Um, our store sells games..." said Yugi.  
  
"A _game_ store?" said Honda. "No way! That's useless!"  
  
"Anyway, let's try it!"  
  
_A present for Honda..._ thought Yugi. _I hope we have something for her... Let's see what Grandma says..._  
  
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Kame Game Shop.  
  
"Here we are!" said Jounouchi.  
  
"Jounouchi, this is a waste of time..." said Honda. Why had she let Jounouchi drag her and Yugi off to the game shop again?  
  
The three walked into the shop. Yugi explained their situation.  
  
"Well, well," said Sugako, "do I have something for you!"  
  
Sugako walked to the wall behind the counter and pulled down a box.  
  
"I haven't told Yugi the story, but this was how I got his grandfather!"  
  
"Hey, you sure about this, Jounouchi..." said Honda.  
  
"Dunno..." said Jounouchi.  
  
"This is it!" said Sugako. "This is a blank puzzle! You write down your feelings, then break it up and send it to him! As he puts it together, piece by piece your words appear! Isn't it romantic?"  
  
Jounouchi put her hand to her mouth in a vain attempt to muffle her snickering. She began to laugh out loud. "Honda!" she exclaimed. "I can't imagine you with this!"  
Yugi looked at Honda in silence. How was Honda going to take this...?  
  
Surprisingly well, actually. She said, "Yes..."  
  
"Wha?!" said Jounouchi. What the heck?  
  
"This is it!" said Honda. "This is great! Yeah! This is just right!" Turning her head up from the box, she said, "I'll take it, granny!"  
  
"I'm glad you like it!" said Sugako.  
  
Jounouchi's face was twisted in confusion. This was _not_ the Honda she knew. Then again, she didn't even know that Honda had a crush on _anyone_ whatsoever until today, so it's not like she could have known...  
  
"B-but... Hold on... What should I write...? I... I've never written a love letter... What should I do...?" She furrowed her brows. She looked directly at Yugi, whose eyes widened.  
  
" _You_ write it, Yugi!" Honda didn't trust herself to phrase her feelings right, and she definitely didn't trust Jounouchi and her shaky English grades to phrase it right. And Ansei wasn't there, and Grandma was elderly! She probably hadn't felt romantic love in a long time, nor did she understand modern teenagers! That left Yugi as the writer.  
  
"Whaa?!" said Yugi. She didn't exactly know how to write romantic letters!  
  
"Feel how hard my heart beats! Take this _passion_ and put it into words! It's not that hard!"  
  
"Why me?!" asked Yugi. She was _not_ prepared for this in the slightest!  
  
Ignoring Yugi's protest, Honda continued, saying, "Then send the puzzle to Mikio... But, uh, if he turns me down, _I'll kill you!_ " She punctuated her last three words by shaking Yugi again.  
  
"Honda, don't be ridiculous!" said Jounouchi. If Mikio rejected Honda, it was probably because Mikio didn't know Honda very well at all! No matter how well Yugi phrased the letter, Mikio would probably reject Honda!  
  
That night, Yugi set to work on the love letter, er, puzzle. Sure, she had high English grades, but she didn't exactly have the best social skills! Especially since she was too shy to socialize most of her life... She was up all night, writing rough drafts, throwing out the ones that were too cheesy, or too creepy, or too out of character for Honda. It didn't help that she didn't know Mikio all that well. Eventually, she worked out the final letter. It went, "Dearly beloved Mikio, you are the sweetest guy I've ever met. I love you more than anything in the universe. From Hiroko Honda." She broke up the puzzle and wrapped it in a box.  
  
The next morning, the three of them came up with three plans: one, give it to him directly, two, mail it to him, or three, sneak it into his desk. The first one wouldn't work because Honda and Yugi were too shy and Jounouchi didn't want to give someone a gift when others could see. The second one wouldn't work because none of them knew him well enough that asking for his address wouldn't seem creepy. For lack of other ideas, they went with the third plan. They went to school early. They went to their homeroom an hour before the bell would ring. They gathered around Mikio's desk.  
  
"Hey Yugi," said Honda. "That message had better be good! I don't want him misunderstanding me!"  
  
"Yup," said Yugi.  
  
"Honda, all we do is put this in her desk and everything is set!" said Jounouchi. "Here we go!" She put the box in the desk.  
  
"We did it!" said Yugi.  
  
"If this goes well," said Honda, "it's hamburgers on me!" Nothing could possibly go wrong... right?  
  
Things did, in fact, go wrong.  
  
They had a substitute teacher that day, Ms. Chono.  
  
Ms. Chono was walking down the hallway. She was a rather beautiful young woman, but a very strict teacher. In the last six months, she had expelled 15 students.  
She ran into someone.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Vice Principal," said Ms. Chono, "good morning!"  
  
"Ah... Morning, Ms. Chono," said the vice principal. "So, how did your date go? The one yesterday."  
  
"Yes, well..." said Ms. Chono, "he wasn't up to my standards so... ha ha..."  
  
"Glad to hear it," said the vice principal.  
  
"I have to get to class, then," said Ms. Chono.  
  
_I'd like to marry her,_ thought the vice principal.  
  
At the beginning of class, Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda sat at their desks. The three of them were watching Mikio. It seemed that he hadn't noticed anything unusual at his desk. He was doing some last-minute studying with a friend of his who sat in front of him.  
  
Honda rested her chin on her desk, arms folded to cover her mouth. She was blushing and fidgeting.  
  
"Look," said Jounouchi, grinning in amusement at her friend's reaction to this whole situation. "It's driving Honda crazy. Her face is all red! She can't sit still! It cracks me up!"  
  
Honda turned her head to face Yugi and Jounouchi, face even redder than before. _H-he looked this way!_ she thought.  
  
_I hope this goes well, for Honda's sake,_ thought Yugi, smiling. It was honestly kind of adorable how Honda was so worked up over this.  
  
Meanwhile, in the teachers' restroom, Ms. Chono broke a mirror. _I can't stand that absolute idiot! How dare he ask me about that! He had to remind me! That stupid –! That leech! I was going to turn him down anyway... Dating is my greatest pleasure! It's my hobby to trample the hearts of the fools in the world! He took that from me... I have all this charm and he dumped me... I won't forgive him!_ Calming down, she thought, _Oh, no. I messed up my makeup. Let me fix that._ After doing just that, she thought, _This stress is bad for my skin! It's going to make it oily... I know. I have to blow off some steam!_  
  
Ms. Chono walked into the classroom.  
  
"Good morning, class!" she said, smiling. "All right, everyone! I'd like your attention! Before we open our textbooks today, empty the contents of your desk and bag onto your desk! It's _inspection_ time!"  
  
"What?!" said Yugi and Jounouchi.  
  
"This is bad, Honda!" Jounouchi whisper-shouted to Honda.  
  
Mikio was searching the inside of his desk when he found a box in wrapping paper topped with a bow. He was confused. _It's nowhere near Christmas... And nowhere near my birthday, either... And it's certainly not Valentine's Day..._  
  
_Oho ho ho,_ thought Ms. Chono. _This feels so good! One word from me and look... The students are terrified! You can just see the guilt eating away at them! Despite that, they act all sexy out of class! The little brats! If their parents only knew... Let's see what you have! Cigarettes? Lipstick? Condoms?_  
  
Out loud, she said, "Very well. Let's see..." On the second desk, a blue-haired boy had a wrapped gift on his desk. He was looking down, face red with embarrassment.  
  
"What's _this,_ Mr. Nosaka?" she asked. _Oho ho ho... I found something already! This should be fun!_  
  
Honda looked at the situation in horror. She made a wordless sound muffled only by the fact that her teeth were clenched together.  
  
Yugi and Jounouchi were similarly shocked. They knew that either Honda or Mikio were going to get in trouble.  
  
"Ah... um... I don't know," said Mikio. "I found it in my desk..."  
  
Ms. Chono took the box off of the desk and ripped it open.  
  
"Well, well," she said. "A jigsaw puzzle!" She began to put the puzzle together. "You put the pieces together and a message appears! You get caught up in this sort of thing!" After putting the majority of the puzzle together, she began to mock the message. "'Dearly beloved Mikio, you are the sweetest guy I've ever met'? What a silly message!"  
  
Everyone was amused except Yugi, Jounouchi, Honda, and Mikio. They were mortified.  
  
_Damn nosy woman,_ thought Honda. _Mikio's the one hurt most by this..._  
  
"Now," said Ms. Chono, "who gave this to him? It's in the school rules! Underage dating is strictly prohibited! This puzzle is a date waiting to happen! Now will the sender please stand up! I may forgive you if you confess!"  
  
_Damn,_ thought Honda. _Mikio is so embarrassed... If he finds out the present is from me, it's all over... I can't hide it any longer..._ Standing up, she thought, _Goodbye, Mikio!_  
  
Just then, Yugi stood up, too.  
  
"I did it!" said Yugi, standing up. "I wrote the message!"  
  
Yugi! thought Honda.  
  
"No!" said Jounouchi, also standing up. "I put it in her desk, teach!" _It doesn't matter if they laugh at us, or if Mikio hates us... You'll get another chance, Honda!_  
  
Honda stood silently for a bit, before finally working up the nerve to say what she planned to say. "Thanks guys, but that's enough. Jounouchi! Yugi! It's _my_ message in that puzzle!"  
  
"W-why are there three of you?!" asked Ms. Chono. "Only one of you is guilty! _Someone_ is lying!"  
  
"Teach, none of us are lying," said Jounouchi.  
  
Ms. Chono realized something. "Of course! I just need to finish the puzzle! These last four pieces will reveal the guilty party's name!" _When I find out who it is... she's expelled! She lied to her teacher, the god of the classroom! It's just what she deserves!_  
  
Quietly laughing to himself, she counted the pieces out loud.  
  
"One!" Jounouchi's eyes widened and Honda squeezed hers shut.  
  
"Two!" _Goodbye everyone..._ Honda thought. _Jounouchi... Yugi... I'm glad you were my friends... Thank you..._  
  
Honda! Yugi thought. Her vision went dark.  
  
"Three!" _Ms. Chono..._ thought Yugi. _How dare you wound Honda and Nosaka's souls... Everyone has secrets locked in their hearts! Secrets they can only show to a special person! Our feelings are in that puzzle! And now, by the power of the Millennium Puzzle, I change that jigsaw puzzle into a Shadow Game! Now, as much as you hurt others... You will hurt yourself!_  
  
The final piece clicked into place.  
  
"I have the name!" exclaimed Ms. Chono. "The person being expelled is... Hon – huh?!" Lines began to form on her face, in the shape of puzzle pieces. The pieces fell away, forming a much uglier face twisted into a psychotic grin that further marred it.  
  
She screamed.  
  
"Look!" one student exclaimed.  
  
"What a face!" another said.  
  
_Ms. Chono,_ thought Yugi. _I've removed the mask of your soul! That is your true face! No matter how much you do, you can't cover your ugly nature!_  
Ms. Chono ran out of the classroom screaming. "This class never happened! You reveal my secret and I'll get you! I'll be back! I won't forget this!"  
"Jounouchi, did you see her face?" asked Honda. This was a sudden turn of events. What the hell happened?  
  
"Yeah..." said Jounouchi. "But that was close!"  
  
Yugi had returned to normal. "Huh?" she asked. "Class is over?" What had happened when her vision had gone dark?  
  
After that, Honda worked up the courage to ask Mikio out directly, but he rejected her. But something changed between the three after that... Honda seemed less threatening to Yugi. Honda no longer made Yugi carry her things, or buy her magazines. She seemed to smile more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally was going to give Mikio a prominent yellow accessory that he would be nicknamed for, but I couldn't think of anything. I decided to try a pin, but I realized a pin wouldn't stand out. I then thought to maybe give him a bag he kept books in and have him be nicknamed "Books," but then I realized that was kind of a silly nickname. So Mikio has no nickname. Alas.


	4. Duel for a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin! Meet Setomi Kaiba, master of the world's most dangerous collectible card game, Duel Monsters! When Kaiba discovers that Yugi's grandmother owns the incredibly rare Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, she will stop at nothing to get it... even if she has to duel with Yugi's dark alter ego!

Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Sugako were in the Kame Game Shop.

"Hoho..." said Sugako. "This card game is extremely popular in America. It's called Duel Monsters!"

"Wow..." said Ansei.

"I think it'll be popular in Japan soon, too!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Each card has an illustration," explained Sugako. "There are thousands of different monster and spell cards!"

"Wow, the pictures are so well done!" exclaimed Ansei. "Some of them are on the grotesque side, though..." he added.

"But how do you _play_ this game? Is it like gambling?" asked Jounouchi.

"The cards are meant for trading. But you can also play a game with them," Yugi explained. "Two players take turns putting forward a card, and the stronger card beats the weaker! The players battle by comparing the strength of the monster and magic cards in their hands! The two stats are attack and defense. The first player to lose all their life points loses!"

"There are strong cards and weak cards," Sugako added. "And thousands of different cards! Some of them are worth more than a house! I have a really valuable card, too!"

"Oh!" said Yugi.

_Valuable?_ thought Jounouchi.

"Ho ho... I guess I'll have to show it to you now... my treasure!" Sugako said playfully. She reached behind the desk and pulled out a card featuring a dragon with white scales and blue eyes. "Here! This one is called the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. There are only a few copies because the manufacturer quickly realized that it was too strong. It's so valuable, some have killed over it!"

"Wow," said Ansei. "Makes me feel sort of solemn just looking at it."

_It must be worth a ton,_ Jounouchi thought. She then spoke up. "Okay, Yugi! Tomorrow we'll play Duel Monsters at school!"

"Okay!" Yugi agreed cheerfully.

"Hey granny, I'll buy some cards! Gimme all the strong cards you got!"

"How about that one... ho ho..." said Sugako. "Please come again!" She was glad her granddaughter had finally made some friends.

Suddenly, the door opened with a "klack!" Standing in the doorway was a tall brunette with shoulder-length hair and sharp blue eyes. She was wearing the girls' uniform of Domino High School.

"Welcome!" said Sugako. The Kame Game Shop didn't have customers often. The stranger let out a small "Hm..." followed by "Huh? Oh... is this where you live, Yugi?"

Yugi let out an "Ah!" of recognition. "You're Kaiba from my class." She didn't remember much about Setomi Kaiba, apart from the fact that what little time she spent at school not doing classwork, she was reading classical literature.

"Yes." said Kaiba. "You all are playing Duel Monsters?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Yugi agreed enthusiastically. "Kaiba, do you play it? That's great, you can play with us tomorrow at school!"

_Eh... with you?!_ Kaiba thought to herself. "Hey, hey, wait a second. I don't know if you all are good enough to play with me. Let me see your cards for a second." She picked up Jounouchi's deck and looked at the different cards. All monsters. Not even strong ones. Tossing them behind her, she said, "Haha, no way! What a beginner! You're not cut out to duel with me!"

"Augh! My cards!" Jounouchi protested, not that Kaiba cared.

"I was the champion in the Duel Monsters national tournament! And I've collected nothing but strong cards!" Kaiba bragged, a smirk on her face. "Well, call me back when you've collected 10,000 cards... heh..."

"She ticks me off!" Jounouchi growled.

"It's okay, Jounouchi. We can still play," Yugi assured Jounouchi, trying to calm her down.

"Old woman, do you sell cards here? And do you buy cards?" Kaiba asked, ignoring Yugi trying to hold back Jounouchi from running up to her and beating her up or yelling at her.

"Sure, sure, thanks for coming," Sugako said with a smile. That woman has a lot of patience, thought Ansei.

"Huh," said Kaiba upon seeing one particular card she had been looking for ever since she got into Duel Monsters. "W-what?!" she exclaimed upon closer inspection. _Th-this card... the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!_ "Old... old woman... w-where'd you get that card? What is it doing here? Let me have a look at it!"

"You can look," said Sugako. Kaiba picked up the card. She couldn't believe her eyes. _I'm finally seeing it in person... the attack and defense... this is the strongest and rarest card ever made! If I had this card... I would be unbeatable!_ Unfortunately, her face, normally composed, gave away her excitement at seeing the card.

"That's enough!" said Sugako. Kaiba mentally growled to herself.

"Old woman! For that 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, I will trade you all of my cards!"

"Amazing!" Ansei said.

"Her briefcase is full of cards!"

"Hoho... nah," said Sugako.

_And she refused her! Even more amazing!_ Yugi, Ansei, and Jounouchi thought at once.

_Rrgh..._ thought Kaiba. _She won't trade it, even for that much. She knows the card's true value?_ Out loud, she asked, "Why not?"

"Hoho..." Sugako chuckled. "Kaiba, what's wrong? You must want this card a lot. The reason I want to keep this card has nothing to do with how strong or rare it is. This card was a gift from my gaming companion in America. In other words, this card is as important to me as she is! I could never part with it! The same goes for weak cards. You might say that my treasure is the memories that fill this card! That can't be changed at all! Therefore, this one card is worth more to me than that entire briefcase of cards! Valuing your cards is the true strength in this game!"

"Tch!" Kaiba said, turning to leave the game shop. "I understand! Goodbye!"

"Wow, that was great!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Grandma doesn't need rare cards to win!"

The next day at school, Yugi and Jounouchi were sitting across from each other at a desk. A crowd of students had gathered around the table. "Hey," said one boy. "What're you doing, Jounouchi?"

Jounouchi ignored him, instead telling Yugi, "My Zombie attacks!"

"This card defends!" Yugi countered.

The result of attacking depended on the attack points of the monsters, or the defense points if it was in defense position. If the attacking monster had the higher stat, the other monster was destroyed. If the defending monster did, the attacking monster was destroyed. If the stats were the same, and the defending monster was in attack mode, they destroyed each other. If the defending monster was in defense mode, neither monster was destroyed.

"Now, it's my turn!" said Yugi. "Yes!" she said upon looking at the card she drew from her deck. "I drew the Dark Dragon! It's strong!" It had 1500 attack points and 800 defense points.

_Grr..._ thought Jounouchi. _I can't beat that card..._

"Its attack crushes your Zombie! Your life points drop from 2000 to 1500!"

_Grr.. dammit... I don't have any strong cards!_ Jounouchi thought. Just her luck.

"Crap, I lost again!" Jounouchi growled in frustration. Yugi was way too good at this game. What gives?

"Yay, I win!" Yugi exclaimed cheerfully.

Jounouchi heard Kaiba's mocking voice in her head. _You're weak!_ She thought to herself, _I need to get some stronger cards._ Jounouchi quickly calmed down. She could never stay mad at Yugi. Maybe it was how cheerful and friendly she almost always was. _Or maybe it's how cute she is..._ Jounouchi thought. She quickly put that thought out of her mind, though.

Elsewhere in the classroom, Kaiba was watching the duel. _Heh, what a weakling!_ she thought. _I'm a hundred times stronger than her!_

"Yugi!"

"Ah, Kaiba!"

Putting on a false smile, Kaiba said, "Heh. Your game is fun to watch!" Yugi smiled back, oblivious to Kaiba's true intentions.

"Umm..." Kaiba said. She was unused to faking friendliness. She quickly thought of what to say next, though. "Did you bring the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to school?" She knew it was unlikely, but there was always that possibility.

"You said you understood!" Yugi said. She was starting to suspect something, but not enough that her smile faltered. "Anyway, my grandma agreed to lend it to me, just for today! I'm not allowed to play with it, though!"

"That's alright, It's just... could I look at it again? After holding it just once, I was too excited to sleep last night! And anyway, I do understand what your grandmother said, but... I'm in love with that card." Oops. That came out wrong. Yugi didn't seem to notice, though. Phew, she thought. If Yugi suspected anything, Kaiba's plan was ruined.

"Oh, alright! You can see it!"

"Yes, just as beautiful as I remember it!" _Heh... I'll just replace the Blue-Eyes with a copy I made, which looks just like the real thing!_ Foolproof. Absolutely foolproof.

"Thank you, Yugi! When I see a card like that, I think it deepens my love for this game!"

"Yeah!" Yugi said. She looked down at the card in her hand. Something seemed off... her smile faded into a concerned frown.

_Yes!_ Kaiba thought. _Operation complete! Yugi is such an idiot! She didn't even notice!_ "Later," she said out loud. "Have fun with your game!" She then walked out of the room. Yugi watched her. Kaiba probably did something with the Blue-Eyes...

"Hey Yugi! Let's play again!" Jounouchi exclaimed, interrupting that train of thought.

"Eh?! Okay..." said Yugi reluctantly. She wanted to talk to Kaiba, ask her if she did anything. But she was nowhere to be found.

After school that day, Kaiba walked out of the school. _Hahaha! My victory at the next tournament has already been decided!_

"Kaiba!" a familiar voice called out. Kaiba's eyes widened. Had Yugi, in fact, figured out her scheme?

"Yugi!" she said. She chuckled, partly to keep up the friendly facade, partly out of nervousness. If Yugi found out about the switch...

Yugi got straight to the point. "Kaiba! Please give that card back to me!"

"Wha?!" Kaiba had been found out. She had to convince Yugi that her suspicions were unfounded. That was the only way this plan would work now.

"When I showed it to you, you switched the card for a fake!" Yugi said. Her face and tone were not angry, though. She sounded... _disappointed,_ more like a friend than a foe.

"Are... are you calling me a thief?!" Kaiba yelled. "I gave you back the card, just as it was when you handed it to me!" Hopefully nothing gave away her lie. Yugi was smarter than Kaiba had anticipated, she had to give her credit for that.

"I know the difference between a copy and the real thing. Please give it back!" _How can that kid remain so polite?!_ Kaiba thought. It was infuriating.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaiba stuttered. Damn. Yugi was definitely smarter than Kaiba realized.

"Yes, you do, Kaiba!" Yugi said, raising her voice for the first time that conversation. Kaiba was slightly scared. Ridiculous of her, Setomi Kaiba, to be scared of some five-foot-nothing wimp with more hair than brains, but here she was. "Listen! That card is very important to my grandmother! If I broke my promise and didn't return it to her, it would break her heart!" Ah. There was the sentimental fool she thought she knew. "My grandma means a lot to me, and I don't want to let her down!"

_Oh boy,_ thought Kaiba. "You're breaking my heart," said Kaiba. Wait, crap! That could be taken the wrong way... too late. "I don't know anything! Really! I'm your friend, so why don't you believe me?"

"Kaiba!" Yugi yelled in frustration. The truth was obvious, and nothing Kaiba could say would change her mind. Why did she insist on continuing to lie? Maybe she wasn't such a good person after all...

"Shut up!" Kaiba yelled back, thwacking Yugi with her briefcase. Yugi was shocked at the violence. "I can't believe you're making such a big deal about sentimentality! She's an old woman! She doesn't understand that winning is more important than anything!" _So that's why she wanted Blue-Eyes so badly,_ thought Yugi. Suddenly, her vision went dark.

Yugi seemed to transform right in front of Kaiba. Yugi's eyes seemed to grow fiercer, sharper, prouder. Some of her bangs began to stick up. Her whole body language seemed to change, from a desperate wimp to a more confident person. She was frowning.

"Kaiba!" said Yugi. Her voice seemed deeper and more confident. What the hell just happened? Kaiba thought. "I will finish this with a Shadow Game!" Yugi continued. "And I will get my grandmother's treasure back!" Yugi began walking in the direction of some building. Kaiba followed. _Shadow game..._ she thought. _Interesting..._

Eventually, they entered the building, entering a room with a table and two chairs. "Yugi! Well, here I am! I accept your challenge!" _What are you thinking?_ Kaiba thought. She was interested in what all a "Shadow Game" entailed, though.

"The rules of this duel are a little different!" said Yugi. "You'll understand soon."

"Heh, that sounds like fun," said Kaiba. _No rule could possibly beat my deck. And once the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is in my hand, this game will be over!_

"Each player has 2000 life points! First to zero loses! Forty cards per deck!" Yugi explained. _Cut the exposition,_ Kaiba thought. _I know how this game works._

"Then it's my turn!" Kaiba said. Yugi didn't care who went first. Either way, either Kaiba would prove herself worthy or she would get a just punishment for her behavior.

Kaiba drew a card to add to her hand. _Yes,_ Kaiba thought. _It's a level five Gargoyle!_ It had 1000 attack points and 1500 defense points. She set the card in attack position. She could not believe what she saw next. "W-what?! The card's picture materialized!" she exclaimed in amazement. Now to find some way to make this a reality, instead of some hallucination...

"In that case, I attack your Gargoyle with this! Dark Dragon! The Dark Dragon attacks your Gargoyle with fire breath!" The Gargoyle let out a cry of pain as it burned, then disappeared. _N-no, I lost..._ Kaiba thought. _No, no, it's not over yet,_ she corrected herself.

"Only the image is gone..." said Yugi. "Whoever loses this game will wait for the penalty game! Those are the rules of a Shadow Duel! Now, your life points drop from 2000 to 1500!" Yugi's own life points remained untouched. "And the defeated will experience a penalty game similar to death!" _Similar to death?!_ Kaiba thought, shocked. Who knew wimpy little Yugi was capable of... whatever this was?

Kaiba laughed, face breaking into a disturbingly wide grin. "This is fun!" she exclaimed, sounding a little less than sane, to say the least. "This could be the ultimate duel to the death!" Or, perhaps, to the pain...

_I will win this game and get back my grandmother's precious card!_ Yugi thought. Out loud, she said, "Now, it's your turn to draw a card!"

"Okay," said Kaiba. She drew a card. She chuckled. _Yes,_ she thought. _I drew Minotaurus!_ Minotaurus had 1700 attack points and 1000 defense points. She summoned the card in attack position. "Materialize!" she exclaimed, psychotic smile breaking out once more on her face. A monster with the body of a man and the head and fur of a bull, dressed in red armor appeared on the field. "My Minotaurus is superior to your Dark Dragon in both attack and defense!" Kaiba explained, smile having shrunk but still quite present. "No matter how much it struggles, your card can't beat my Minotaurus! Go, Minotaurus! Tear the Dragon from limb to limb!" Minotaurus swung its axe at Dark Dragon, destroying it. Kaiba laughed. "This is great! The Minotaurus' axe blocks the Dragon's flame breath! You can't hurt it! You can't even make it twitch!"

Yugi's eyes widened as her Dark Dragon vanished. "Gah!" she cried out.

Kaiba laughed once more. "Disappear! The difference in attack points is 200!" Yugi's life points dropped from 2000 to 1800. "Now draw your next card, Yugi! Though I doubt you'll draw a card that can beat my Minotaurus!" She had this in the bag now that Minotaurus was on the field. Yugi couldn't possibly have anything more powerful than that!

Yugi drew a card. "My turn! I play the Mystical Elf!" She set it in defense position, since its defense was 2000 to the Minotaurus' 1700 attack points. She probably wouldn't get to attack with it, though, since it had only 800 attack points.

_Ha,_ thought Kaiba. _Looks like I can't successfully attack it. I'd lose life points if I tried..._ "My Minotaurus moves to defense position!" No use risking her life points keeping it in attack position. She was already losing by 300 life points. She chuckled. "Looks like a stalemate!" she said. "I'll just have to keep drawing cards until I draw something that can attack the Mystical Elf!"

Yugi drew a card and ended her turn.

Kaiba drew a card. _Already done!_ she thought smugly. "This one will make the next turn interesting!" she said, placing a card face-down behind her Minotaurus. On the field, behind the Monster Zone was another row of 5 card spots for spell cards. Spell cards had effects that could be activated one turn after being set or later.

_What spell card did she draw?_ Yugi wondered. _It must be a card to power up Minotaurus!_

"My turn!" Yugi said, drawing a card from her deck. It was a Wight. _No good,_ she thought. _This undead-type card is too weak to beat her card! Especially if she powers up Minotaurus..._ "I set Wight in defense position and end my turn!"

"Now, my turn!" said Kaiba. She drew a card. "I'll use the face-down spell card to power up Minotaurus! The card is called Giant Transformation! It increases Minotaurus' attack and defense by 20% each!" Minotaurus' attack was now 2040 and its defense was now 1200. She laughed. "Now Minotaurus' attack is higher than the Mystical Elf's defense!" Yugi's eyes widened. "Now, attack the Mystical Elf! Make it a blood offering!" _Okay, Kaiba is definitely insane,_ thought Yugi.

"Next to go is your Wight!" Kaiba exclaimed. Yugi watched as the Wight vanished. "This one card can beat anything in your deck!" Kaiba exclaimed, laughing manically.

As the duel continued, Minotaurus took down monster after monster from Yugi's deck, eventually leaving her life points at 500 to Kaiba's 1500. Yugi began to sweat. _She's good at this,_ she thought. This was the first person she played a game with to give her a real challenge. _If the card I draw isn't strong enough to beat Minotaurus, I'll lose!_ She did not want to think about that possibility. "Yes," she said, after drawing her next card. "The strongest card in my deck! Summoned Skull!"

_Summoned Skull?!_ Kaiba thought, shocked. Her smiled faded and her jaw dropped. Summoned Skull had 2500 attack points and 1200 defense points. It could beat Minotaurus handily, even if Minotaurus had Giant Transformation equipped. It was a fiend-type monster, and was one of the five strongest monsters in the game. _How can she have such a rare card?!_ thought Kaiba.

"And of course it will attack Minotaurus!" Yugi said. "Demon Lightning!"

"No! My Minotaurus!" Kaiba cried out. That was one of her best cards!

_With the Skull, I can beat any of Kaiba's cards,_ thought Yugi. Nothing could possibly go wrong... right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Kaiba sat there, silent. Sweat had formed on her face. _She's good at this,_ she thought. This was the first person she played a game with to give her a real challenge. Was this really the same sentimental fool she had met at that card shop? _Dammit! This is bad... I might have a card that can beat Summoned Skull, but my chances of drawing it are too low. But... there's one thing that would ensure my victory! Heh, I forgot to put the card into my deck, so it's still in my pocket! If I can bring out my trump card, I'll win!_ She decided to pull a sleight of hand. Putting her hand into her pocket, she said, "Yugi, you're pretty good! Up until this point, I wasn't afraid for my life!" Pulling the card out carefully, so as to make it appear that she drew it from her deck legitimately, she said, "And now, with this trump card, I still am not! Because that card is this! The Blue-Eyes White Dragon! The rarest card in the world!"

_What?!_ thought Yugi, shocked.

Kaiba chuckled. "Come on, come on!" She laughed manically once more. "Amazing! Beautiful!" she exclaimed as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon materialized on the field. Its attack points were 3000 and its defense points were 2500. There was no way Yugi could beat it.

_That card,_ thought Yugi. _It's my grandmother's card!_

"Heh! You thought I wouldn't use your grandma's card?!" she taunted, broad, psychotic grin on her face once more. "You're right! Because this is my card! Your Skull has only 2500 attack points! My Blue-Eyes has 3000! The difference is 500 points! And since you only have 500 life points left, my next attack will win me this duel!" Yugi's eyes widened. "Attack, Blue-Eyes! Destroy Yugi!" she yelled. She was going to win! There was nothing Yugi could do!

Except... Blue-Eyes wasn't doing anything? It just floated there, as though Kaiba had said nothing. "What?!" Kaiba yelled. "W-what's wrong? Why isn't it attacking?!"

"Kaiba... it seems that you don't understand this game at all... It didn't attack me because the Blue-Eyes White Dragon doesn't have your heart in it!"

"Wha... what the...?" Kaiba said, confused. Cards didn't have some spiritual connection to their owners! They were just pieces of paper with pictures and text! What was Yugi going on about?

"I can see it! My grandmother's heart is in the Blue-Eyes!" Yugi continued.

"Ah... the Blue-Eyes is disappearing!" Kaiba said, eyes widening. _What the hell?_ she thought.

"You thought that the Blue-Eyes would disregard its loyalty to my grandmother, and destroy me... well, did it accomplish that mission?" Yugi asked rhetorically.

"You... you idiot!" Kaiba yelled. "A card can't have loyalty! It's just a card!" Surely this was all nonsense, right? Surely this was all some nightmare Kaiba was having, right? Surely this was all some hallucination she was having, right? What else could explain this nonsense, this _surreality?_

"My turn!" Yugi said, interrupting Kaiba's thoughts. "I already had a spell card face down here. And now I'll use it!"

"W-wait... when did she lay a spell card?! What could it be?!" Kaiba asked, sweat forming on her face. _A fever dream... This is a fever dream..._ she thought. When had she gotten sick? She thought she had a stronger immune system than this... But then again, her insomnia couldn't have helped her make any sense of this... or helped her immune system...

"The Monster Reborn card!" Yugi proclaimed. "And of course, the target monster is the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

_W-wait... she took my trump card..._ Kaiba thought.

"Attack!" Yugi yelled. "Burst Stream of Destruction!" Kaiba's life points hit 0.

Kaiba let out a scream. Somehow, she was feeling actual, physical pain from this. She couldn't think through the pounding of her head. All she could say was a pathetic, whispered, "I lost..." This had to be a hallucination. Since when could playing a children's card game cause a person to become severely injured? This had to be a dream, or a hallucination. None of this could be real. None of this made _sense._

"And now, the penalty game!" Yugi said. Kaiba could barely hear her. She could barely focus on anything besides the pain that caused this pounding in her head, this constriction of her breathing, this inability to speak above a whisper.

Kaiba screamed again. She could have sworn she was being turned into a card. "W-what? Is this the inside of a card?! The world of Duel Monsters?!" She heard a thousand growls coming from behind her. She turned around. She saw many monsters, among them a red two-headed dragon, a similarly red eldritch monstrocity that may or may not be part of said dragon, a red-eyed golden lion, a green humanoid cyclops, and what appeared to be the Grim Reaper himself. She screamed again. She heard Yugi's voice out of nowhere.

"Kaiba... in that world, you experience something similar to death, but don't worry. It's only one night's worth of nightmares... an illusion! By getting to know the cards, perhaps you will understand the heart of this game! If you do, you'll be ready to learn from a true game master, like my grandmother! Now, I've got to return the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! She'll be so happy to see it!"

Yugi's words did not help Kaiba in the slightest. _Please let all this be over soon..._ she thought. Well, at least Yugi confirmed that this part was a hallucination... the monsters were approaching, though.


	5. An Electic Electrical Experience!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jounouchi's missing from school! Yugi, Ansei, and Honda investigate, and find that a gang from another school may be involved...

It had been many days since Yugi finally got her grandmother's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card back. She wasn't quite sure how, though. One moment she had been yelling at Kaiba to give her the card back, the next, she was at the Kame Game Shop with her grandmother congratulating her on it. What was especially concerning was the fact that Kaiba had not been showing up to school lately.

That day, Yugi got on the bus, like usual. She arrived at school at 8:20, like usual. She greeted her friends, like usual. But something was not like usual. Jounouchi was not at school.

"You guys may not believe me, but in all of high school, I don't _ever_ remember Jounouchi skipping class!" said Honda, panicked.

"This is the first time Jounouchi's missed school," added Yugi. "Do you know what's going on with her, Honda?"

"Nah... I haven't heard from her at all..."

"I hate to admit it," said Ansei, "but it's kind of lonely without her around."

"Why don't we go by her place after school?" suggested Honda. "I know where she lives."

"Okay," said Yugi.

"I'll go too!" said Ansei. "I don't have work today."

After school that day, Yugi, Ansei, and Honda walked to Jounouchi's home, Honda leading the way.

On their way there, Yugi asked, "So you've known Jounouchi since middle school, Honda?"

"Yeah," said Honda. "But I've hardly ever been to her place..." Stopping at one particular building, Honda said, "This is her apartment building! I've only been here once. If I remember correctly, it's the third floor on the end."

The three entered the building and took an elevator to the third floor. They walked down the hallway. At the end of the hallway, they ascended a short flight of stairs and turned left. Next to the door was a sign labelled with the surname "Jounouchi."

Honda knocked on the door with a loud "Hello!" Nobody answered.

"Anyone home...?" Honda asked. She tried to turn the knob. It turned surprisingly easily. "Let's take a peek..."

Suddenly, something hit the door with a "crash!" Ansei let out an "Eep!" Liquid and pieces of shattered glass landed on the floor near the door.

A deep but recognizably female voice that sounded like it belonged to a smoker yelled, "Hey! You brat! Where ya been the last two days!" A hiccup came from the woman. All they could see of the woman was a pair of boots resting on a table.

"'Scuse us!" Honda yelled in panic. She slammed the door and ran away along with Yugi and Ansei.

After they were a safe distance from the door, Yugi said, "That was scary..."

"Um... was that...?" Ansei asked, trailing off.

"Yeah, that's her mom..." said Honda. "She's been like that forever... that's why... Jounouchi never has her friends over..."

Yugi and Ansei looked at Honda with concern. _So that's why Jounouchi was the way she was..._ thought Yugi. _If my own parents didn't care about me..._

"But she wasn't at home," Honda continued. "Her mom said that she's been gone two days... I wonder where she's gone..."

"Anyway," said Yugi, "let's look for her!"

The three wandered all over the city.

"No good..." said Honda. "She's nowhere."

"We've tried all her usual hangouts," said Ansei.

"Jounouchi..." Yugi murmured under her breath.

"I'll keep looking. You guys get home before it gets dark," said Honda. "Don't worry about her. She'll show up tomorrow!"

"Okay..." said Yugi, trailing off. Something was not right. Why would Jounouchi disappear for two days straight without telling her closest friends?

"Honda's right, Yugi," said Ansei.

"You see?" said Honda. "It's gonna be okay."

Yugi wasn't so sure.

"Hey man!" a voice shouted. Yugi turned her head back to see what the commotion was.

"Fgghin' step on my foot? Why don't you look where you walk?" that same voice yelled angrily.

"I-I'm sorry..." said a much quieter voice.

"What you gonna give me to forget about it?" the angry voice yelled.

At this point Honda and Ansei had also turned their heads.

"That's Rintama's school uniform!" said Honda. "That place is really bad... better leave 'em alone!"

Yugi's eyes widened upon seeing one particular individual in the crowd. "Honda! It's her!" she said. "It's Jounouchi!" She would recognize that hair anywhere.

Honda looked where Yugi pointed. "W-why...?! Why is she with those punks from Rintama?!" Honda asked.

"Come on, Jounouchi!" said one of them. "Let's go to our place. It's called JZ. You'll like it."

Yugi ran up to the group. "Jounouchi!" she cried out. She repeated Jounouchi's name, and she turned her head.

"Why'd you skip school, Jounouchi?" Yugi asked. "Why are you with people like them?" Jounouchi didn't answer.

One of the punks turned her head. She was a freckled girl in ugly glasses and a beanie, with a cigarette in her mouth. "...'People like them?' Does she mean us?" she asked mockingly. "You know that kid, Jounouchi?"

To Yugi's shock, Jounouchi said, "Nah. Never seen her... come on, let's go."

"Jounouchi!" cried Yugi once more.

Another punk, with her blond hair in an undercut with the top just long enough to be tied back, said, "Heh... Jounouchi, you're too nice... Don't tell me at Domino High you let kids like that follow you around. You should've come to Rintama with us from the start.

Honda's eyes widened. _That's her,_ Honda thought. _I've seen her with Jounouchi before! That's Hirutani! But why's she back with her now?!_

"Come back with us, Jounouchi!" cried Yugi in vain.

"Hirutani!" said the girl with the glasses. "That kid's getting on my nerves... Jounouchi said she didn't know her!"

Hirutani let out a "Heh..."

The girl with the glasses walked up to Yugi. She punched Yugi in the face, yelling, "Shut the hell up, whiny!"

"Jo – " Yugi said, but interrupted her own sentence. This was probably not the best situation to say her name...

_Yugi!_ thought Honda.

Jounouchi was shocked. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. If she were to defend Yugi, it would be her and Honda up against a whole gang. A whole gang that knew the weaknesses of their fighting styles, and would ruthlessly take advantage of that and their sheer numbers to take them down, and beat up Yugi, possibly to death. And Ansei, too, possibly...

The girl with the glasses let out an ugly, mirthless chuckle. "Who said you could talk to Jounouchi?" she asked. "Next time I see your face I'll cut off that hair and feed it to ya!"

"Yugi, are you all right?!" asked Honda, crouching down to support her.

"Yugi!" said Ansei.

"J-Jounouchi..." said Yugi.

"Jounouchi!" yelled Ansei. "You're the _worst!_ I can't believe you! What's _with_ you, Jounouchi?!" He wasn't sure which was worse; Jounouchi openly bullying Yugi, or betraying her.

Jounouchi remained silent. It hurt to see her friend yelling at her like this. But she couldn't let it show. She had to remain silent, to protect all of them. She had be cruel to be kind, so the bad would begin, and the worse would remain behind.

Hirutani laughed. "Let's go, man," she said.

Yugi, Ansei, and Honda made their way to a bench in a nearby park.

"Are you okay, Yugi?" asked Ansei, after she and Honda sat down. "Put this damp cloth on your face."

"I'm okay," said Yugi. But she wasn't. Not emotionally, anyway.

"You see," explained Honda, "Jounouchi was in a gang in middle school. There was a time when she _lived_ to fight with gangs from other schools... sometimes even _high school_ gangs. She had a long record... they almost sent her to jail... that's when she was with Hirutani. I mean, now we hang out all the time, but... I really used to look up to her. But I never had the guts..." She trailed off. "She used to look out for the younger ones... and she never beat up weaker people... but... I can't understand it... what's her deal...? Maybe she's not coming back..." Her last sentence sounded heartbroken. "Dammit..." she muttered.

_Honda..._ Yugi thought. _Jounouchi... That's right... It was because of this puzzle that I made friends with Jounouchi..._ The puzzle seemed to glow for a second, as though agreeing with her. _I believe in her..._ "Jounouchi hasn't changed!" said Yugi out loud. "She _couldn't_ have!"

"Yugi..." said Honda. She began to smile. "That's right! She may not be a genius, but she wouldn't treat her old friends that way!"

"Yup!" said Yugi. "Let's go get her back!"

"I'll come too!" said Ansei.

"Me too!" said Honda. "I'm sure there's a reason for this..."

"They said they were going to a place called JZ, right?" said Yugi.

"Let's go!" said Honda.

The three made their way to what appeared to be the back of an abandoned warehouse building. There was a staircase presumably leading to the basement. Sure enough, it was labelled "JZ". They hid out of sight of anyone coming out.

"Okay," said Honda. "One of them came out!" She chuckled. "One's no problem... I could take three of these punks." Honda began following the punk, who had short blond hair.

"Yo!" said Honda, when they were a safe distance from Yugi and Ansei.

"Huh?! W-what..." But before the punk could finish her sentence, Honda was beating her up. Eventually, she managed to grab her by the shirt collar.

"All right!" said Honda. "Why's Jounouchi hanging with you guys from Rintama? Spill it!"

"Uh..." said the punk. "I dunno..."

"Speak up or you're dead!" Honda yelled.

The punk let out a "Gggh!" followed by "I get it... I'll talk..."

Meanwhile, in the basement, the Rintama gang were sitting down. The basement had been repurposed and now resembled a bar.

"Glad you joined us, Jounouchi!" said Hirutani. "Let's have fun, just like old times." She chuckled.

"We'll make them recognize us all over Tokyo," bragged the girl in glasses. "Excuse me, Hirutani," she said. "You're out of cigarettes, aren't you? Please, have one of mine." Hirutani took a cigarette from the box offered to her.

Jounouchi glared at both of them.

"What is it?" asked the girl in glasses. She let out another ugly chuckle. "There something stuck to my face, Jounouchi?

_Yeah, your arrogant shit-eating grin,_ thought Jounouchi, but she kept silent. If she said anything to piss off anyone here, she could be dead. She turned her face away from Hirutani and her main lackey. Hirutani had been bringing in her old friends to expand the gang's turf, but Jounouchi refused at first. She glared once more at the girl in glasses.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Jounouchi?" she asked, not that she expected an answer. "You rather be playing house with hair-for-brains?

Jounouchi continued glaring. Hirutani had not stood for Jounouchi's refusal, so she gave her a warning. That if Jounouchi didn't join her gang she'd beat up all the kids in her Domino High class one by one.

Jounouchi finally spoke. "No way. No way I'm letting that pass."

The girl in glasses looked shocked. "Huh..." she said.

Suddenly, Jounouchi delivered an uppercut to the girl's cheek, knocking off her glasses.

"No way I'm letting you get away with hitting my friend!" she yelled.

The girl, now without glasses, fell to the ground.

Hirutani chuckled. "Jounouchi, I'm glad you're finally getting the old look back in your eyes... Too bad for you that it's aimed at us." To her lackeys, she yelled, "Hold her down! Jounouchi needs an attitude lesson!"

Meanwhile, outside the building, Yugi, Ansei, and Honda ran into the building. Honda yelled, "All right! Let's go save her!"

_I knew Jounouchi hasn't changed!_ thought Yugi. _Wait for us, Jounouchi!_

Meanwhile, in the building, Jounouchi assessed her situation. _Damn,_ she thought. _Five of them... Not good..._

Jounouchi dodged a punch from a dark-haired girl with hair styled in an ugly attempt at a fifties greaser haircut. She countered with a knee to her gut, followed by a punch to her jaw.

Unfortunately, she felt a thud as something hit her in the back of her head. She fell forward with an "Urk..."

"Now!" yelled the stout blond girl who had struck Jounouchi from behind. "All at once!"

"Okay, take her away!" said Hirutani. "To the torture chamber!"

"Let me go, you jerks!" yelled Jounouchi in vain.

Meanwhile, Yugi, Ansei, and Honda made their way into a hallway.

_We have to get Jounouchi out of there,_ Yugi thought.

"Yugi... Ansei..." said Honda. "You guys stay back! I'll go in alone!"

"B-but..." sputtered Yugi. "Honda!"

"Those girls are from Rintama!" said Honda. "You can't take them on!"

Yugi looked up, eyes widened.

"Yugi!" said Honda, smiling. "Even though you're my friend, I don't want you falling to my level! 'Kay?"

"Honda!" Yugi called out helplessly, as Honda ran down the stairs.

Honda ran until she encountered a door leading to an all-too-familiar room.

"Honda is here!" she yelled. "Give Jounouchi ba– "

She interrupted her own sentence when she realized something.

Where the hell did they go?! she wondered. She turned her head to the right.  
"Huh?" she said. Lying there, halfway thorough the door, was the girl with glasses from before. Except her glasses were gone. She ran over to her, and grabbed her by the front of her jacket.

"Hey, wake up, you!" she yelled.

It was no good. She was out like a light.

Jounouchi! Honda thought. Where the hell are you?

Honda ran outside.

"They weren't there!" Honda said.

"Huh?" asked Yugi. "Then where's Jounouchi now...?"

"I don't know," said Honda, "but looking at how messed up the place was, Jounouchi's gotta be in trouble."

"We have to find her quickly!" said Ansei. "Let's split up and look for her!"

"Okay..." said Honda. "But come tell me first if you find her! Don't try anything on your own!"

The three went into different directions.

Meanwhile, in a different abandoned warehouse from before, Hirutani said, "Hey hey!"  
Jounouchi was conscious once more. Her wrists were tied above her head, with the rope hanging from a support beam. She spat on Hirutani, as the one act of defiance she could do in her situation. She would kick her, but she was too far away, and she did not want to make herself dizzy from the rope swinging. The dark-haired lackey punched Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi," said Hirutani, "you've been like that since middle school! Always acting like you were my equal! Still, nothing could stop us when we were together... even some _high school_ gangs were afraid of us, we had plenty of people working for us... but the one thing I never managed to do... was teach you this: I am the boss. You'll always be second in command."

Jounouchi laughed. "Of course, that's just what a _fool_ would think! You done? Well, lemme tell you, I've got a good memory. I know you jerks' faces... I remember how many times each of you hit me. You know I hold a grudge. I'm going to pay you back _double!_ "

"Don't worry," said Hirutani. "This isn't even the main course. The next item on the menu will _blow your mind!_ "

Jounouchi's eyes widened.

" _These_ are 200,000 volt stun guns," Hirutani explained. "When I flip the switch, the electricity comes on. And when that happens, it's gonna blow your memories right out of your head..."

Jounouchi gulped.

"And maybe your life too," said a spiky-haired blond girl. "So let's go."

"You damn asshole!" yelled Jounouchi, kicking the blond girl.

The girl let out an "uh..." as she fell over.

"Bastard!" yelled the dark-haired girl. She used her stun gun. Jounouchi screamed.

Yugi was in a hallway when she heard familiar screaming. _Jounouchi!_ she thought. _Please... Millennium Puzzle... Tell me where Jounouchi is!_ She shut her eyes, willingly letting herself lose consciousness. It seemed to help previously.

Yugi's body transformed as her vision went dark. Yugi had a vision of the room where Jounouchi was being held. She instinctively went down the maze of corridors until she found the exact room she was looking for.

Back in the room, one of the lackeys said, "Hey, Hirutani, she can't even talk anymore! She's just twitching now!"

"Should we stop now...?" asked another.

"Do it!" yelled Hirutani, "it" being continue to shock Jounouchi.

"Uh," said the dark-haired lackey, "but if we keep going, she'll die."

" _Do it!_ " Hirutani repeated even louder.

"Stop!" a voice yelled from the entrance.

"Hm?" Hirutani said, turning towards the direction of the voice. It was the wimpy kid from before, except she looked a hell of a lot more confident.

_How dare you hurt Jounouchi!_ thought Yugi. _I won't let you get away with this... any of you!_

She walked closer to the gang. She was now standing in a large puddle from where the roof had been leaking.

"What's with this kid?" asked one of the lackeys.

"Hmm? Oh," said Hirutani. She chuckled. "I've seen this kid before. This little brat hangs around Jounouchi..."

"If that's all the help she has, then she's done for..." said another lackey. She let out an ugly, mirthless laugh.

"Hey kid!" said the dark-haired lackey. "This is our hangout..."

"Not your playground!" finished the stout lackey, punching Yugi in the face.

Hirutani laughed. "What a lame excuse for a rescue!"

Yugi let out a "tch" as she got up, holding a metal bar. She also noticed a tire that had been knocked over when she fell. She had an idea. She secured the Millennium Puzzle to a chain hanging down low enough for her to reach, then put the metal bar into place.

"Well," she said, climbing on top of the tire, "now it's my turn to start something! A game! I challenge you to a game!"

_W-what? A game?_ Was this kid serious? She had somehow tracked them all here... for a _game._

Yugi chuckled. "Haven't you figured it out?" she asked. "There's a time bomb hidden at your feet, and a switch attached to that bomb."

"A bomb?" asked Hirutant. "What are you talking about, wimp?"

"Now, the question is," said Yugi, ignoring Hirutani's question, "can you find the switch? If you do, you win! My life is yours to take! But if you _can't_ find it, there's a penalty game... the bomb will explode, taking you with it!"

"Hirutani..." the dark-haired lackey said, "the kid's bluffing! Let's stun her and watch her jerk around!" She held up her stun gun.

Hirutant suddenly realized something.

"W-wait!" she said. "Don't use the stun guns! Look! We're all soaked with rain! That brat stood there just to lure us into the puddle, so we'd get water on us. She let us hit her with that in mind! If even one of us turns on a stun gun right now, the 200,000 volts will go from her hands to the puddle and the four of us will be blown away by that kid's 'bomb'!" She chuckled. "We've found the switch, kid! We're safe if we don't use the stun guns... So we'll use our fists instead!"

One of the lackeys laughed. "We win this game! Adn now for your 'penalty game,' as promised, you die!" The kid was oddly calm about being near death, though...

"Heh, but you _didn't_ find the switch," said Yugi. "I'm the winner."

"W-what?!" sputtered the dark-haired lackey.

"And that switch is about to activate... right... now..." said Yugi.

Hirutani realized what the _real_ switch was too late.

Hirutani noticed her spiky-haired lackey unconscious on the ground... with a metal bar under her arm... the arm that held her stun gun... the arm that was about to fall down. "Th-the switch is her arm!" Hirutani yelled.

Water dripped down from the Millennium Puzzle onto the spiky-haired lackey's face.

_She set this all up when she got hit?!_ thought Hirutani.

"Uh... I..." murmured the spiky-haired lackey.

"D-don't wake up!" Hirutani yelled in vain, as her lackey's arm fell down.

"Switch on!" proclaimed Yugi.

The stun gun made contact with the puddle. It was activated when the spiky-haired lackey squeezed it without thinking, due to being half-awake.

The whole gang began to scream. Yugi was safe, due to standing on the rubber tire, which absorbed the electricity.

Yugi set to work on untying Jounouchi. Standing on the tire, which she brought with her when walking towards her, had helped her reach Jounouchi's wrists.

Ansei and Honda entered the room when they heard screaming.

"Yugi! Jounouchi!" Honda yelled.

"Ah, Honda! Ansei!" said Yugi, who had returned to normal.

"What the – " said Honda.

"Is Jounouchi all right?!" asked Ansei. "Yugi, you're hurt too..." he added.

"Jounouchi!" Yugi exclaimed when Jounouchi finally came to.

Jounouchi let out a "yuh..."

Yugi beamed down at her.

"Jounouchi, it's me!" Yugi said. "Let's go back!"

"Yu..." Jounouchi said. "Yugi..."


	6. Mysterious Woman in White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends go to a museum with an Ancient Egyptian exhibit! But they meet a mysterious woman there. Could this meeting reveal a secret about the Millennium Puzzle, and the true nature of the gaps in Yugi's memories?

Yugi was excitedly talking to her friends at school. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "They found a pharaoh's tomb in Egypt! And it's full of treasure!"

"An Egyptian exhibit?!" said Jounouchi.  


"Yup! It's opening tomorrow at the Domino City Museum!"

"That sounds interesting!" said Ansei. "Let's go!"

It had been two months since the incident with the Rintama gang. In the meantime, no dangerous incidents had happened.

"The college professor who discovered the pharaoh's tomb is my grandma's friend, Professor Yoshimori. She invited us, so we can get in for free!"

"Wow," said Ansei. "That's the woman in the newspaper. Didn't they find a mummy?"

"Yerk!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "A _mummy?!_ I don't wanna get cursed!"

"Egypt is such a mystical place," said Ansei. "That's where your puzzle's from, isn't it?"

"Yup! My good ol' Millennium Puzzle!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, that's right..." said Ansei. "Didn't your grandma say the archaeologists who found it all died mysterious deaths...?"

"Urk! No way!" yelled Jounouchi. "Yugi! Are you all right?! You aren't cursed, are you?!"

"Of course I'm not cursed!" said Yugi.

_But still,_ thought Yugi, _ever since I completed this puzzle, there's been times when I lose my memory... I'd better not tell everyone... they'd think it was creepy..._

"Tomorrow's Sunday," said Ansei, interrupting Yugi's thoughts. "Let's meet at the museum at 1:00!"

"Yeah!" said Yugi.

"We're there!" said Jounouchi.

_Wow,_ thought Yugi. _An Egyptian exhibit! I love this stuff! I can't wait!_ Ancient Egypt had always fascinated Yugi, ever since she first got the Millennium Puzzle at seven years old. She wondered what it would have been like to be an Egyptian pharaoh. She knew most of the pharaohs had been male, but she also learned about such female pharaohs as Hatshepsut or Nefertiti. She wondered if she would have had to dress as a male in order to become pharaoh...

The next day, at 1:00, Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, Honda, and Sugako had arrived at the Domino City Museum.

"Everyone's here!" exclaimed Ansei.

"Yo, you bet!" said Honda.

"Ho ho..." said Sugako. "Actually, my friend was supposed to meet us here... let's wait a bit longer."

"Yugi, don't wear your school uniform on the weekends..." said Jounouchi.

"Why not?" asked Yugi.

"Because, it's weird!" Yugi did, in fact, stand out from the others. Ansei was wearing a striped long-sleeved shirt with a vest, jeans, and boots, Honda was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and jacket, and Jounouchi herself was wearing a letterman-style jacket and jeans. Yugi's school uniform, in contrast, looked overly formal, what with the blazer and all.

"Mutou!" exclaimed an older woman, smile on her face.

"Ho ho... here she is," said Sugako.

"It's been a while!" said the woman. She was tall, with short dark hair and a wrinkled face that suggested a lot of smiling when she was young. "Good to see you!"

"Thank you for inviting us to your show!" exclaimed Sugako, also smiling. Turning to her granddaughter and her friends, she said, "Let me introduce you!" Gesturing to the woman, Sugako said, "This is Professor Yoshimori."

"Pleased to meet you," said the aforementioned professor.

It was then that Sugako noticed that Professor Yoshimori had a stout companion. "Who's this?" she asked.

"Kanekura's the name!" she said. "Welcome to my museum!" Turning to Yoshimori, Kanekura whispered, "Yoshimori, ask them about that thing we talked about."

"Oh, s-sure," Yoshimori whispered back. Out loud, she said, "Mutou, you told me that your granddaughter solved the Millennium Puzzle..."

"Ho ho," said Sugako, "I did tell you that, didn't I..."

"Huh?" Yugi said, staring blankly at the two.

"So you're Yugi!" said Professor Yoshimori. The family resemblance was striking. Yugi had the same big, round eyes Sugako had when she was younger, and the similarly short height. They even had similar hairstyles!

"That's it! The legendary Millennium Puzzle?!" said Kanekura, upon noticing the puzzle around Yugi's neck. "You must show it to me!" Yugi complied.

"T-this is wonderful!" exclaimed Kanekura. "Such an important piece of pharaohic history... and it's hanging around your neck!"

"Kanekura makes her living in the art business," explained Yoshimori. "She has an eye for antiques!"

_Wow, is it really that valuable?_ thought Yugi.

"Yugi, I beg you!" exclaimed Kanekura. "People have _got_ to see this! Let me display it at the show!"

"Whaa?" said Yugi.

"Please!"

_What should I do?_ thought Yugi. _I can't let go of my treasure for that long..._

"W-well," said Yugi, "How about just for one day?"

"Oh... sure!" said Kanekura. "One day is plenty!" _Plenty of time to sell this off,_ Kanekura thought darkly.

Elsewhere, a dark-skinned woman in long, white robes wearing a turban and holding a set of golden scales and a large key shaped like an ankh walked in an airport. Anyone who saw her would claim that she had a mysterious, otherworldly air to her. Nobody on any of the planes that had arrived at the time would say that they saw her on their plane, yet she seemed to have walked off one of them. The woman had one particular destination in mind: Domino City Museum.

Back at the museum, Yugi and his companions were walking through the exhibits.

"Wow!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "So all this belongs to the person who dug it up?!"

"Ha ha ha," said Sugako. "Wouldn't that be nice. Until 1921, the excavator could keep up to half of the artifacts they found, but now they belong to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities! It's cultural property – illegal to sell, because it's so precious. The man who discovered the famous treasure of Tutankhamen didn't get to keep even _one piece_ of the artifacts he found."

"I see," said Yugi. "I thought archaeologists were treasure hunters with dreams of hitting it big..."

"Ha ha, no," said Yoshimori. "That's just in the movies. Archaeology is one of the worst paid professions. But when after months and years of searching, you open the door to a piece of history that no one has seen before, there's an excitement that you can't _begin_ to describe! That's what I'm in it for."

"Well, excuse me for a minute, everyone," said Kanekura. "I'm going to put the Millennium Puzzle on display! Take your time... enjoy yourselves." _Heh heh, take your time indeed,_ she thought.

_Somehow, I don't feel right without the puzzle,_ thought Yugi.

"That's awesome, Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "Your treasure's gonna be _famous!_ "

"Ha ha... you think so?" asked Yugi.

"Let's take a picture in front of it later!" said Ansei.

"Sorry, Yugi..." said Yoshimori. "I know you didn't want to lend it to her..."

"That's all right, it's only for one day," said Yugi.

"This expedition wouldn't have happened without Ms. Kanekura... I'm not in a position to complain... But she can be somewhat self-centered..." said Yoshimori.

"Wow, look!" exclaimed Ansei. "It's so pretty!"

They were looking at a drawing displayed on the wall. On it, a man with a jackel head, Anubis, was leading a person to a set of scales. At this set of scales, Anubis was weighing a person's heart against a feather. Next to Anubis was a being with a crocodile head.

"This is a scene drawn on papyrus, showing the 'weighing of the heart', the judgement of the dead," explained Yoshimori. "The judge is the god Osiris. That's Anubis on the left. He weighs the deeds of the dead person on a scale. If the scale falls on the side of good deeds, they pass on into the afterlife. But, if the scale falls on the side of bad deeds, they are fed to Ammit, the devourer!"

Turning in another direction, Yoshimori said, "And over here we have the mummy!"

"Do we _have_ to see the mummy?!" asked Jounouchi.

"You _scared,_ Jounouchi? How uncool!" admonished Ansei.

They looked at the mummy. Ansei felt almost forlorn looking at it.

"Let's go!" said Jounouchi. "If we keep staring we're going to be cursed!"

"Ha ha ha," said Yoshimori. "There's no such thing as curses!"

Yugi continued looking at the mummy. She got a strange, unsettling feeling from this mummy. It wasn't even mummies in general. She had seen plenty of other mummies and felt fine. But seeing this one felt particularly unnatural, like she wasn't supposed to see this.

It was then that she saw a tall, dark-skinned woman in white. She was holding a golden scale and a large key shaped like an ankh. The woman looked down at her.

"Why are you crying?" asked Yugi.

The woman took a deep breath, and said, in a low, sorrowful tone, "These tears are not mine... this shriveled form... she has become a doll of dust... but still she is the eternal pharaoh... her spirit lives on with her name. Even eternal sleep is denied to her... The cry of her soul becomes tears and flows down my cheeks."

The tears on the woman's face faded.

"Heh," she said. "You're a nice little girl."

" _Little girl?!_ I'm in high school!" Yugi protested.

Ansei walked up to Yugi.

"Hey, Ansei, I saw this strange woman in white..."

"Huh?" asked Ansei. "I didn't see anyone..."

"Hey! Look!" said Jounouchi. "Over there! Yugi's puzzle is on display!"

"Huh? Really?" asked Yugi.

"Magnificent!" said an old woman in rectangular glasses.

"Sh!" said Kanekura. "Let's finalize the sale in my office ten minutes before the museum closes," she whispered.

"Ms. Kanekura," whispered the woman, "the Millennium Puzzle is spectacular. I'll pay _any_ price!"

"Yes, well, let's talk about this later..."

The two walked away as Yugi's group approached the display case.

"Wow!" exclaimed Yugi.

"It looks so cool in the glass case!" said Jounouchi.

"Let's take a picture!" said Ansei.

They took the picture.

Away from the display case, Kanekura thought, _Heh heh... that puzzle's going to make me a bundle. Of course, I'll have to give Yugi some to shut her up..._

Near the end of the day, Yugi and her friends left the museum.

"Ah! That was fun!" exclaimed Ansei.

"I wish I could go to Egypt!" said Yugi.

"Ho ho," said Sugako, "Professor Yoshimori! Thank you so much for today!"

"It's my pleasure!" said Yoshimori. "Why don't you come by my lab sometime and I'll give show you even more." Turning to the group, she said, "Well, I have to get back to the university..."

"Goodbye!" said Yugi.

"What do you want to do now?" asked Ansei.

"I'll wait here until the museum closes!" said Yugi. "I want my puzzle back before I get home!"

"We'll be off, too!" said Sugako. "I have to get back to the store..."

"Then we'll split up here!" said Jounouchi.

"See you tomorrow!" said Yugi.

_4:30,_ Yugi thought. _30 minutes left..._

She sat down in front of the museum to wait out the time.

Meanwhile, in Kanekura's office, Kanekura examined the Millennium Puzzle. She chuckled to herself. _My investment funded the discovery of the pharaoh's tomb,_ she thought. _And now I can make some money on the Millennium Puzzle. Luck is with me!_

The woman in the glasses knocked on the door. "Ms. Kanekura..." she said.

_Oh, she's here,_ Kanekura thought. "Come in!" she said.

Outside the door, however, the woman in the glasses fell to the ground.

"Wha?!" said Kanekura. The woman who entered the office was not who she was expecting.

The woman had dark skin and wore white robes and a turban. She held a golden set of scales and a large key shaped like an ankh. Her sharp, unnaturally blue eyes were lined in _kohl,_ a type of eyeliner used by Ancient Egyptians.

"Wh-who the hell are you?!" Kanekura yelled.

"My bloodline has guarded the tombs for three thousand years," said the woman. "I am a servant of Anubis."

"A-A-Anubis?!" Kanekura said.

"Because of your greed," continued the woman, "another tomb in the Valley of the Kings has been defiled. You have trespassed in the territory of the gods. For that, you will go on trial!"

"I get it!" said Kanekura. "You're from the Egyptian government! I don't sell antiquities on the black market!" She had probably said too much.

The woman set the scales down.

"You know the scene of the final judgement in the 125th chapter of what you call the Book of the Dead. These are the scales of truth!"

_The final judgement!_ Kanekura thought. _When the deeds of the deceased are weight before Osiris, the lord of the underworld! On one side of the scales is the feather of Ma'at, goddess of truth... on the other side, the heart of the deceased, representing their soul... if their sins are heavier than the feather of Ma'at, the deceased is fed to Ammit, a monster combining parts of a crocodile, a hippo, and a lion... but, it's just a myth, after all..._

"We now begin the game!" said the woman. "The Shadow Game!"

_A game?!_ thought Kanekura.

"On the side of the scales I place the feather of Ma'at," said the woman. "As you can see, the scales are now balanced. I will now ask you several questions. If you do not tell the truth, the other side will grow heavy with the weight of your crimes. If that side of the scales should touch the ground, the penalty game of death awaits you."

_Penalty game?!_ thought Kanekura.

"Then the first question," said the woman. "A young girl falls into a deep well. You are the only one to see it happen. However, at your feet lies the golden ring the girl was wearing... What do you do?"

"I save her!" said Kanekura. "I save the little girl!"

The empty side of the scale began to sink.

"Wh-what?! But I'm telling the truth!" protested Kanekura. "Errg..."

"Next question," said the woman, as though she did not hear Kanekura.

Kanekura felt her heart thudding.

Meanwhile, outside the museum, it was 4:55.

"All right!" exclaimed Yugi. "The museum is about to close! Time to get my puzzle back!"

She entered the museum, making her way to Kanekura's office.

Back in said office, the woman had asked several questions, and Kanekura had given false answers every time. And every time, the "empty" side of the scale had sunk lower and lower. And every time, she protested that she was telling the truth.

"How is the plate sinking without anything in it? This has to be some kind of trick! What the hell is a penalty game?"

"Very well, said the woman. "Before the last question, I'll tell you about the penalty game... It awaits within your heart..."

"Huh...?" said Kanekura. A look of horror showed on her face.

"T-the chair is changing!" Kanekura yelled.

The chair had changed into a monster with a crocodile head, with the armrests becoming its arms, the seat of the chair becoming its lap, and the back becoming its stomach and chest. The head grew from where the top of the back of the chair once was. Kanekura screamed.

"That is Ammit," said the woman. "The monster that has taken up residence in the room of your soul... Then the last question... Have you defiled the territory of the gods and sold their treasure to fatten your own pockets?"

"S-stop! Stop!" Kanekura yelled, panicked. "I'll pay anything! How much do you want?!"

Finally, the "empty" side of the scale hit the table.

"There is no truth in the room of your soul," said the woman. "There is only greed. Therefore, you will be punished."

Kanekura screamed as Ammit ate her alive.

"Everyone has a room of the soul," said the woman. "My Millennium Key can open the door. The room of your soul is filled with the decaying scent of money and greed. Monsters like Ammit enjoy making their homes there. You will be eaten alive by the illusion born of your own crimes!"

The woman turned to leave the room when she spotted something.

"Hm!" she said. _Th-this is the Millennium Puzzle!_ she thought. _And in its completed form...! In three thousand years, it hasn't been solved once! Why is it here? Does it mean someone in this country has solved the puzzle?! Who in the world could it be...?!_

"Geez," said Yugi. "Thsi museum is a maze... The puzzle wasn't in the case, so Ms. Kanekura must have it." She looked up to see the dark-skinned woman from before. "Uh..." she said. _What is she doing here? I'm pretty sure the museum's closed by now... I wonder... But she wouldn't know where... But maybe I'll just ask..._

"Excuse me," Yugi said out loud. "Have you seen Ms. Kanekura? She promised to return my puzzle..." She formed a triangular shape with her thumbs and index fingers. "It's shaped like this..."

_I-impossible!_ the woman thought. _Not this girl!_

"I guess you don't know after all," said Yugi, looking very disappointed.

_The one who solves the Millennium Puzzle gains great power... The same power as my bloodline...! If so, then this girl... I have to make sure! I must know if this girl has the power!_

"Um... Why are you looking at me like that? You were crying before..." _This woman's acting weird..._

_I will use the Millennium Key to look into the room of her soul!_ thought the woman.

The woman approached Yugi silently. Yugi's eyes widened as the key made impact on her forehead.

The woman had a vision. She was in a hallway that was tiled in a modern pattern on her left, and made of stone on her right. On each side, there was a door.

_Th-this girl has two rooms in her soul!_

The door on her left was open. Inside, the room was brightly lit and scattered with toys everywhere. No one was in there. No dark thoughts lie in that room.

The door on the left was closed. It was made of metal, with a wdjat in the top-center section. When she got near it, the door opened on its own. She could barely see into the room. The one thing she could see was a human being. She bore a strong resemblance to the girl, but where the girl had round eyes, a collared shirt, and bangs that generally stayed down, this other girl had sharp, fierce eyes, a leather tank top, and some of her bangs stuck straight up, as if in defiance of gravity along with general rules of natural hair colors.

"Well, well," said the other girl. "A visitor in my room..." She chuckled. "Come in... _if you dare._ A game awaits you!"

The woman stood there silently.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl. "Are you afraid? Show some courage!"

_I have visited the rooms of many peoples' souls in the past... they may have different decorations and furnishings, but there is always only one room! But... what is this other room in the girl's soul... it is dark... and cold... like a tomb of a pharaoh in Ancient Egypt...!_

"I don't know what power you used to find this place, but you better explain why you're here," said the girl.

The woman chuckled. "From your perspective, I am an unwanted guest... answering that question is the least I can do."

The girl's expression relaxed slightly from the constant frown she wore.

"I came to discover the secret of the power of your Millennium Puzzle," explained the woman.

"So you know of the existance of the Millennium Puzzle..." said the girl.

"Yes, I know," said the woman. "Also that it is one of the Millennium Items... The story of the Millennium Items has been passed down from Ancient Egypt... three thousand years ago in the Valley of the Kings. They were made 'to punish thieves who would defile the tombs of the pharaohs and steal their treasures' by the magicians who served the ancient pharaohs. So it is written in the Pert em Hru..."

"So you came here with a Millennium Item...?" asked the girl.

"The power of the Millennium Key!" said the woman. "This key opens the door to one's soul... in the room of the soul, one discovers everything about a person... who they are, what they love, what they fear... even what they themselves do not know. And one more: the Millennium Scales. They weight the sins of a person on trial! These are the two that I possess. But even I don't know the power of the Millennium Puzzle. I don't know what power is bestowed upon the person who completes it... because it has never been solved."

"And so to find out... you entered my soul..." said the girl. She wasn't sure about how she felt about this. This was an invasion of privacy.

"If I can see a person's 'room', I can see what kind of power they possess. That is what I came to discover. And if that power is needed... I will draw it into my bloodline..."

The girl raised a brow.

"This power you speak of _does_ rest in my room," she said. "However... I can't let you see it that easily! You know the routine... this is a game! A Shadow Game! The rules of this game are simple: Somewhere within this soul is my true room. If you can find it, then you'll find what you seek."

The woman chuckled. "I forgot to tell you about one other power that I have. When I enter the room of someone's soul, I can 'redecorate' and control that person at will. I can even destroy their personality." She chuckled again. "I accept your game! And I will find the true room of your soul!"

The girl chuckled. "Well," she said, "Don't think it's that easy... this game is more dangerous than you know!" The room grew brighter.

_Is this... a maze?_ the woman thought. _This girl's room is truly a labyrinth of the soul!_

"Game start!" the girl announced.

The woman stood there in silence.

"Well?" asked the girl. "What's wrong? The game won't start until you take the first step."

The woman looked around the room. There were countless doors, as far as the eye could see. She would have to open all the doors, one by one. She approached a door and opened it.

A stone column fell down in front of her.

_A trap!_ the woman thought. The girl had been right. This game _was_ more dangerous than she thought.

The girl chuckled. "What's wrong? Do you give up? At this rate, you might get yourself in trouble." Fading away, she said, "Good luck... I'll be waiting in the room..."

The woman wandered around. There were other traps in various other rooms.

_Which door could it be?_ the woman wondered. _This girl's soul is so tightly closed against strangers... it seeks to confuse me! But I have to know! I must know the secret of the Millennium Puzzle!_ Arriving at a door, the woman thought, _I'll open this door!_

When she opened the door, she saw the girl.

"Ah!" said the woman.

"Heh." said the girl.

_Have I finally made it to the true room?_ the woman thought.

Suddenly, the tiles under her feet fell into an abyss below.

_Urk! If I fall into this darkness, I'll be lost in this girl's soul forever!_

The girl looked down into the hole, seeing the woman clinging to the edge.

"Shall I push you in...?" said the girl. She chuckled. She then offered a hand. The woman's eyes widened.

The girl chuckled once more. "It's all right," she said, smiling. "My hand isn't a trap."

The woman reached up to take her hand, and she pulled her out.

When the woman was once again on stable ground, she said, "I had never imagined that you would save me... if indeed it is the same you... I am in your debt."

"I don't like your hobby of peeking into people's souls," said the girl. "You better leave now!"

"So I have lost the game..." said the woman.

"No," said the girl. "This is just the beginning."

"Yes, you're right," said the woman. "Farewell..."

In the real world, the woman was on her knees. Yugi was surprised. Her vision had gone dark again. What had she done...?

"Are you all right?" Yugi asked.

The woman panted a bit. _I entered this girl's soul to test her, but I was the one who was tested!_

"Are you okay?" asked Yugi. "You look pale! You closed your eyes and stopped moving..."

"Yes... I'm all right..." said the woman. "You are a strange girl... Oh, I almost forgot... if I'm not mistaken... this is yours..." She pulled out the Millennium Puzzle from her robes.

"Yay! The Millennium Puzzle!" exclaimed Yugi. "So that's it! You had it! Thank you!"

The woman laughed quietly. "You don't need to thank me! I am already in your debt..."

"Huh?!" asked Yugi. "Debt...? Did I loan you something?!"

"It was the other you," said the woman.

_Whaa?_ thought Yugi. "The other me?!" She laughed. _What's she talking about?_ Yugi thought. _What a strange woman!_ Another her... that was ridiculous! Right...?

_This girl,_ thought the woman. _She hasn't realized the existence of her other self yet...?!_

"No way!" said Yugi. "I'm the only me there is!"

"Girl..." said the woman. "What's your name?"

"I'm Yugi!" said Yugi. "Not 'Girl!' Yugi!"

_Two sides exist to this girl's personality, but she has not realized it yet... When they join, the true power of the Millennium Puzzle will be revealed!_

"Yugi," said the woman. "There is something you must do... you must discover your other self!"

"Huh?!" said Yugi.

"And you must solve the riddle of the true power of the Millennium Puzzle... the puzzle that was hidden for three thousand years! That is the destiny of the one who solves the puzzle... that is their duty."

_My other self?! The true power of the Millennium Puzzle?!_ thought Yugi. What was this woman going on about?

"My name is Shadi," said the woman. "This is the first time I've ever told it to anyone." She walked towards the entrance of the museum. _There is one more person I must place on trial... one more person who defiled the territory of the gods, the Valley of the Kings..._

Yugi turned her head to see Shadi walking away.

But something was about to happen that would make Yugi face Shadi again, something that would change Yugi's world…


	7. Three Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi has her Millennium Puzzle back, but what awaits her...? She, her friends, and her grandma go to visit Professor Yoshimori, only to find something off about her behavior... and furthermore, Shadi is behind this!

_Shadi,_ thought Yugi as she looked at her Millennium Puzzle. _She said something about "another me inside of me"... and "the secret of the Millennium Puzzle"... I wonder what she meant... and her last words... "I must place on trial one more person who defiled the Valley of the Kings... agh... it makes my head spin! I should stop thinking about it..._

Yugi had got her Millennium Puzzle from the museum. She was back at the Kame Game Shop, at night.

"Yugi, this is terrible!" said Sugako, snapping Yugi out of her thoughts. "Come look at the news!"

"Huh?!" said Yugi.

The news was reporting that Ms. Kanekura, the owner of Domino City Museum, was found dead in her office. The cause of death appeared to be a heart attack, induced by shock, but according to the coroner, there were reasons that it couldn't have been a natural death. And so everyone wondered, "Is this the curse of the pharaoh's tomb?" The phrase was all over the news.

"It's depressing to think someone we just met is dead..." said Sugako, trailing off.

"Grandma," said Yugi, "do curses really exist?"

"Well..." said Sugako, "when Tutankhamen's tomb was opened in 1923, there were the same kinds of rumors... some of the discoverers died mysterious deaths. But now it's thought that the "mummy's curse" was just a sensation stirred up by the media of the time. No one knows the truth... but that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried because there was one more person involved in the excavation... Professor Yoshimori!"

Yugi's eyes widened. _One more person?!_ she thought.

"Anyway," continued Sugako, "Professor Yoshimori would be the last person to believe in curses. But still, one of the people she worked with is dead! It must be hard for her. So, Yugi, I'm going to her lab at the university to try and cheer her up."

"Grandma," said Yugi, "can I come too...?"

"Oh!" said Sugako. "Of course you can! I'm sure she'd like that."

_There's something bothering me,_ thought Yugi. _The "one more person" Shadi mentioned probably isn't Professor Yoshimori, but... but... I have this feeling that I have to go see her... somehow... something deep in my heart is telling me to go..._

The two left the Kame Game Shop. They met up with Jounouchi and Ansei.

"Yo! Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Ansei! Jounouchi!" exclaimed Yugi.

"We just saw the news about Kanekura!" said Jounouchi. "And we just met her! What a shock! We were coming to meet up with you and then go visit the professor!"

"I bet she knows the details of the case!" said Ansei.

"Ho ho," said Sugako. "Shall we go together then?"

Suddenly, Yugi realized something.

"I just know there's a curse!" said Jounouchi.

_There she goes again... the moron!_ thought Ansei. This girl was so tough when fighting, yet present her with a mummy and she's afraid she's going to get cursed. Whatever did a mummy ever do to her? They were just shriveled corpses!

"Ansei... Jounouchi..." said Yugi. "I think it would be better if you didn't go... I just get this feeling..." She trailed off.

"Huh?" asked Ansei. This was _exactly_ the thing they _shouldn't_ be doing. With all the crazy stuff that happened to them the past few months, it was better not to split the group! That's exactly what gets people in horror movies killed! "We're all right!" he continued. "You're worried that Jounouchi's afraid of the curse, aren't you?"

"Yeah! I'm not _really_ scared!" said Jounouchi, flexing her bicep, as if to prove that her physical strength could overcome whatever life could possibly throw at her. And Yugi was ready to believe that. "Professor Yoshimori showed us around the museum! We're worried about her just like you are! She seems like a good person!"

"Y-yeah," said Yugi. "You're right! I'm sorry for acting weird..."

"Ho ho..." said Sugako. "Then let's be off!"

Meanwhile, in Professor Yoshimori's archaeology lab, Yoshimori sat there in contemplative silence. She was leaning forward in her chair, elbows on her desk, left fist in right hand, thumbs on her forehead. _Impossible,_ she thought. _There's no such thing as a curse._ She thought back to that expedition, all the way back in 1923. The locals had guided them to the tomb they were looking for. She had found a chamber beyond a brick wall that now had a gap large enough to climb through. She entered the chamber. There had been so many valuables in that chamber. She remembered the grins on the entire group's faces, especially Kanekura.

But then she remembered walking into Kanekura's office to discuss a recent discovery, and finding Kanekura on the floor, eyes rolled up into her head, tongue hanging out. She checked Kanekura's pulse. There was no pulse, and her body was cold. She had called the police.

At that last memory, she squeezed her eyes shut, resting her left forearm on her desk and putting her right hand on her forehead, as she was prone to doing when stressed.

She could have sworn she heard a clatter of something. She put her right arm down and turned her chair around, eyes wide in terror.

But there was nothing.

"I'm hearing things," she muttered to herself. "A lot has happened today. I must be tired. Mutou will be bringing her granddaughter soon... I've never needed a friend as much as I do today..."

Behind her, Shadi appeared.

_Criminal who defiled the territory of the gods, who profaned the Valley of the Kings..._ she thought. _By Anubis's will, I now put you on trial... before you die, I will unlock the room of your soul with the power of the Millennium Key! Gods willing, I will find some shred of guilt..._ She put the end of the key onto the back of Yoshimori's head, and turned it. She closed her eyes.

She had a vision.

_I see,_ she thought. _This is the room of her soul... the first thing that meets the eye are the shelves full of books... all of them about archaeology. And artifacts excavated from ruins... her heart is cluttered with her obsession with the past. In one corner, covered with dust, a picture of her family... she has neglected them because of her obsession... she regrets it... but it's too late now. The darkness of the room is proof of the anxiety and fear she is feeling... the museum owner's death must be the cause..._ She turned to her right. _Hmm... in the darkness, a glimmer of light... this is the light of hope... I see... this woman is waiting for her friends... that calms her heart and gives her a ray of hope... who is she awaiting?_ She closed her eyes and reached out to the light with her mind. She saw an old woman in slacks and a collared shirt, a brown-haired boy in a striped shirt, a vest, jeans, and boots, a tall, blond girl in a letterman-style jacket and jeans, and... _Yugi!_ she thought. _One of her friends coming to visit is the girl who solved the Millennium Puzzle! This has become interesting... before I kill her, I may be able to use this woman to draw out Yugi's hidden power! I will redecorate the room of the professor's soul and turn her into my puppet! Marionette Design!_ The room altered, but Shadi left Yoshimori's soul room before she could admire her handiwork.

_The redecoration is complete,_ Shadi thought. _This woman is my puppet now... heh heh... and now, Yugi within Yugi... the second stage of our game begins!_

"Here we are!" said Sugako. The four had arrived to Professor Yoshimori's archaeology lab. They walked into the door.

"The lights aren't on," said Ansei.

The four walked down the hallway.

"I hate schools at night," complained Jounouchi. "They're so creepy!"

"You don't have a _shred_ of courage, do you, Jounouchi?!" asked Ansei.

"Hey," said Yugi. "Courage is when you face your fears! You can't be courageous without fear! Not having fear is called _fearlessness,_ which isn't always a good thing!"

"Thanks, Yugi," said Jounouchi.

"You have a point," Ansei admitted.

After some more walking, Sugako stopped at a door, saying, "This is her room!"

"It's spooky..." said Jounouchi, frowning.

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei. "You're going to make Professor Yoshimori even more depressed if you look like that!"

"Ansei's right, Jounouchi," said Yugi. "The professor must be worried about what happened to Ms. Kanekura!"

"Awright, I got it!" snapped Jounouchi. Turning towards the others, Jounouchi said, "Then let's put a big smile on it, huh?"

"This should help cheer her up," said Sugako, who was holding a bag of bottles.

"Yeah!" said Yugi. "Let's not mention the museum at all!"

Jounouchi opened the door with a "Hey there!" She opened the door further. The four all said, "Professor Yoshimori! We're here!"

"Sorry we're late, Professor," said Sugako.

"Thank you for coming!" said Professor Yoshimori, but something wasn't right. Her voice sounded broken, as though it were being used by someone not used to their own vocal chords. Her eyes were blank, and her smile looked off, like the corners of her mouth had simply decided to stop halfway up the distance necessary for a smile.

"Professor, we brought something for you!" said Jounouchi. "Y'know, you showed us around the museum and all..."

"Moron! Ixnay on the useum-may!" Ansei whisper-shouted.

Jounouchi immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh yes, oh yes... the museum..." said not-Yoshimori. "Some~body kill~lled her... Somebody killed Ms. Kanekura! Hee hee..." Now her smile, rather than being too small, was now _way too big,_ and one of her eyes was half-closed, in a crazed-looking expression.

"Hey! Something weird's going on here!" said Jounouchi.

"Professor Yoshimori, what's wrong?" Sugako asked, concerned.

"There is nothing wrong..." said not-Yoshimori. "I was just waiting... waiting for Yugi... hee hee..."

"Huh?!" said Yugi, eyes widening.

Now not-Yoshimori's eyes were wide, and that way-too-big grin was still on her face. She walked up to Jounouchi.

Jounouchi's brows raised, but before she could say anything, not-Yoshimori's hands were around Jounouchi's throat. Jounouchi let out a "Gurk!"

"Jounouchi!" yelled Yugi.

"I want to see the other Yugi," said not-Yoshimori.

Suddenly, a woman in white appeared in the room.

_Shadi!_ Yugi thought.

"Please excuse my puppet's rudeness," said Shadi.

Jounouchi let out a "Ggk!"

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei.

_Why's the professor doing this?_ thought Yugi. _It couldn't be... Shadi...!_

"Shadi!" said Yugi. "What did you do to Professor Yoshimori?!"

"If my theory is correct," said Shadi, "this will bring her out... this will bring out the other Yugi!"

_So show yourself!_ thought Shadi.

Yugi stared at Shadi with wide eyes.


	8. Brainwashed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ansei and Jounouchi try to snap Professor Yoshimori out of her brainwashed state. Meanwhile, Shadi gains additional leverage over the other Yugi! She won't be able to get out of this...

Sugako attempted to pull not-Yoshimori away from Jounouchi, to no avail.

"Her strength is insane! I can't budge her arms!"

_What's happened?_ thought Yugi. _It's like someone brainwashed her and turned her into a killer..._

She turned to Shadi, whose expression remained neutral.

_Did Shadi do something to the professor?!_ she thought.

_Know this, Yugi,_ thought Shadi. I have redecorated the room of that woman's soul. Now she moves at my will. I have planted one thought in that puppet. "Make the girl's friends suffer..." That will push Yugi's heart to the limit... if my theory is correct... when she has no other options, when her heart is out of hope... then her other self will awaken!

Yugi, Ansei, and Sugako looked in shock as Jounouchi was losing her breath.

_I planned to leave this country as soon as I punished the women who defiled the territory of the gods and opened the pharaoh's tomb... but then I met that young woman... since that time, the feeling of defeat smoulders in my heart... I can't leave this country... not with those embers still alive... I want to meet her again... I want to see the other Yugi's power with my own eyes! To do that, I will push this girl as far as I must...!_

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

_Jounouchi!_ thought Ansei. _This is bad...!_ he thought. Suddenly, he spotted a globe. He walked over to take a closer look. _I can use this..._ he thought.

He picked it up by its base, and walked back over to where not-Yoshimori was still trying to strangle Jounouchi.

He pulled back the globe as far as he could.

"Forgive me!" he shouted, as he swung the globe as hard as he could at not-Yoshimori's head. It knocked her down, along with a few of her teeth.

Jounouchi let out a loud gasp and a wheeze as her normal airflow was restored.

_I almost croaked,_ she thought.

"You did it, Ansei!" exclaimed Yugi.

"You knocked her out!" said Sugako.

Shadi's eyes widened.

"Are you all right, Jounouchi?" asked Ansei.

"Yeah..." said Jounouchi. "Nice shot, Ansei!"

"I'm worried about Professor Yoshimori," said Sugako.

"I think I hit her too hard," said Ansei. He never imagined a scenario where he'd have to hit an old woman. True, it was to save his friend, but what was the cost?

Not-Yoshimori got up.

"Oh no...! The professor's still the same!" cried Yugi in fear.

"She's a zombie!" yelled Jounouchi. "Everyone! Let's split up!"

_Evidently the professor isn't enough..._ thought Shadi. _I must enter the room of another person here... and turn them into a puppet as well!_ Yugi would not want to hurt her friends.

"Be careful, everyone!" said Ansei.

_This boy..._ thought Shadi. She put the end of the Millennium Key to the back of his head and turned the key. She closed her eyes.

_This is the room of his soul,_ thought Shadi. _The walls are like mirrors, like a dance studio... Mirrors reflect one's own image. This is a symbol of confidence... or pride. This boy has strong beliefs._ Turning to a picture of the Statue of Liberty, she added, _And dreams..._ Turning to another picture, she wondered, _A woman without a face? This means nothing to me... heh. This boy is easy to like... but the redecoration must proceed. I pity him... but I need to push the girl to her limit... at least, I won't make him into a pitiful puppet like the professor... I'll make him into a doll without memories or a voice... Marionette Design!At this rate, it's only a matter of time until that zombie gets Yugi and Ansei... I've got to distract her.. I've got to lead her away!_

"Hey! Ya old bookworm!" Jounouchi shouted tauntingly at not-Yoshimori. "Take a bite outta me!"

Jounouchi ran out the door, not-Yoshimori in hot pursuit.

"Over here!" Jounouchi yelled.

_Heh heh... that's it! Follow me!_

"Jounouchi!" yelled Yugi in vain.

"Yugi," said Shadi. "You have a good friend... She would save you by sacrificing herself..."

"Shadi!" said Yugi, turning her head.

"And _he_ is a good friend as well," Shadi continued.

The sight was unsettling.

Ansei stood there silently. His face was blank, eyes unfocused. None of the light that was once in them was there now.

_Ansei!_ thought Yugi. "What did you do to Ansei?" she asked.

"I redesigned the room of his soul," explained Shadi. "This boy is now a doll, who cannot speak or think. He is a puppet who cannot move without my will!"

Yugi stared with wide eyes.

"Now, young woman!" said Shadi. "Let your blood burn with anger! Let your body shake with sorrow! And call her forth! The other Yugi!"

Ansei continued staring blankly.

A tear welled up in Yugi's eye.

Meanwhile, not-Yoshimori was still chasing Jounouchi.

_Aagh! Damn, she's fast!_ she thought. _Heh heh! But I'm not trying to get away! I've drawn her far enough away from Yugi and the others! I'll finish her at the next corner!_

She ran around the aforementioned corner, and skidded, turning a full 180 degrees.

_Heh heh... come and get it!_

Not-Yoshimori was in sight.

Jounouchi delivered a sucker punch to Yoshimori's mouth, knocking her to the wall behind her.

"Awright!" she exclaimed. "That right hook'll bring you to your senses!"

Not-Yoshimori sat there.

"Prof?" asked Jounouchi. "You're okay, aren't you?"

Not-Yoshimori looked right up.

She stood up.

She still looked like a crazed zombie.

"No way!" Jounouchi yelled.

She turned around and began running again.

_Why didn't that work?!_ thought Jounouchi.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, Yugi could feel her heart pounding.

_That's it,_ thought Shadi. _Anger! Hatred! Sadness! On the far side of your emotions... like a runner waiting for the handoff in a relay... the other Yugi is waiting!_

Yugi's heart thudded again.

"Listen well, Yugi," said Shadi. "These words will be the final trigger... if I ordered this boy to die... he would _die!_ "

The girl transformed into the girl Shadi had seen in that soul room. Her eyes grew sharper, fiercer, prouder, and some of her bangs began to stick up.

_This is it!_ thought Shadi.

"Shadi!" yelled the other Yugi, voice booming with rage.

"So we finally meet in this world, Yugi within Yugi," said Shadi, sounding almost _satisfied_ with what she had done.

The other Yugi glared at Shadi. What business did this woman have with her?!

"Now!" said Shadi. "The second stage of our game can begin..."


	9. First Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first trial has begun! The other Yugi must solve a riddle, but the whole time, deadly illusions are after her...

"Now that you're here, the time has come to finish our battle in a Shadow Game!" said Shadi.

Sweat formed on the other Yugi's face.

"The last time we met, I searched the room of your soul trying to determine your power... but you forced me out... this time I will try your power in the real world!"

"Now that the shoe's on the other foot, I suppose I have no choice but to accept," said the other Yugi.

"Yes," said Shadi. "If not, this boy will remain a doll forever..."

_Ansei!_ the other Yugi thought.

"The game will begin in ten minutes on the roof," said Shadi. "I will go on ahead and make the preparations... fortunately, all of the tools I need are here in this archaeology lab. Come when the clock strikes eight! I'll be waiting on the roof."

The other Yugi was silent.

_Shadi,_ she thought. _Why is she so determined to test my power? Does her bloodline... whatever group she says she represents... want to use my power? Or do they want to eliminate it...? The power of the Millennium Puzzle... even I don't know its full extent! But it's there, somewhere inside me... hidden in the true room of my soul... It pulses quietly, waiting for the right time! However! There's one thing I'm sure of, Shadi! The fact that you are my enemy! No matter what you challenge me to, I must win! For Ansei's sake!_

The clock struck eight.

On the roof, Ansei stood on a plank. He stared blankly into the horizon, wind in his hair going unfelt, or perhaps not noticed.

The other Yugi arrived on the rooftop. She saw Shadi and Ansei.

"Ansei!" she yelled.

"Then let's begin the game," said Shadi. "The trial of the mind! If you lose this game... it will mean the boy's death..."

The other Yugi glared at her.

"Before I explain the rules, I want to say one thing about the Millennium Puzzle... I don't know how you got your hands on the Millennium Puzzle, let alone how you managed to complete the puzzle that no one has been able to solve for three thousand years. You seem to think it is a coincidence... but that is wrong... the Millennium Puzzle chose you! After waiting over three thousand years..."

The other Yugi was silent. _Chose me?_ she thought. _That's ridiculous. Objects don't have their own will!_ But she continued listening.

"My bloodline, too," said Shadi, "has been chosen to wield the power of the Millennium Items."

"I've heard enough," said the other Yugi. "Don't you _dare_ try to say we're some sort of _allies!_ Shut up and start the game! Tell me the rules!"

"Don't be afraid, Yugi," said Shadi.

_Me? Afraid...?!_ the other Yugi thought. That sentence struck deeper than she wanted to admit.

"Somewhere in your heart, you are afraid of that power. You fear the unknown power of the Millennium Puzzle."

The other Yugi stared in alarm.

"Yugi," said Shadi, "that is the weakness of your heart! The proof lies before you!"

There was a strange set-up in front of him. In the air, there appeared to be a grid of ropes. Hanging from the center of the grid was the Millennium Key. Attached to the Millennium Key by a set of ropes were a set of four humanoid figurines, resembling the sarcophagi of ancient pharaohs.

One of them shattered.

"Ansei!" the other Yugi cried out.

_What in the world...?!_ she thought. _One of the statues broke on its own?!_

"Yugi," said Shadi, "didn't you realized the game has already started? The boy is standing on the bridge of life! It is supported by four ropes attached to four _ushebti,_ figurines buried to serve the pharaohs. But _these_ ushebti are the reflection of your heart! Yugi! When you show the weakness of your heart, the ushebti will answer that weakness and break, one by one!"

The other Yugi was alarmed.

"And when the four ushebti that reflect your heart all shatter and fall," continued Shadi, "the boy will fall as well. Now there are three!"

Sweat formed on the other Yugi's face.

"But Yugi," said Shadi, "this is a game. Let me explain how you can win. The four ropes holding the bridge of life are strung through the ring of the Millennium Key! The Millennium Key is supported by an ushebti that reflects my own heart! In other words, if you can break my heart's ushebti before your heart's three ushebti break, the Millennium Key will travel down the rope and reach the boy's hand! If a person who has been redecorated touches the Millennium Key, they return to normal! The boy's life will be saved, and I will lose! Do you see? The one whose heart shows weakness loses the game!"

_This is a game to determine each other's weaknesses!_ thought the other Yugi. _My heart is being weighed against Ansei's life... this is truly a trial of the mind!_

"Let us begin!" said Shadi.

_What tricks are you going to use to test my heart?_ wondered the other Yugi. _How will you do it, Shadi?_

_Heh heh..._ thought Shadi. _Let's go, Yugi! Stage one!_

The other Yugi's eyes widened as she looked down at the ground.

Tiles began to break. Shriveled hands reached up from the holes in the ground, grabbing the other Yugi by her legs.

From further away, more undead, equally as shriveled as the hands, with glowing eyes and missing teeth, began to rise from bigger holes in the tiles.

She felt herself rising. Undead were rising under other undead, until she was on top of a pile of moving corpses that would not let go. The undead were up to her waist now.

"Yugi!" said Shadi. "This is the first stage of your heart's weighing! Answer my riddle! 'What creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars?' Then you will know what surrounds you!"

_Creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars? What is it?_ the other Yugi thought.

Now the undead were up to her neck.

She could feel her heart pounding.

One of the ushebti began to crack.

Now one of the undead had its hands on her face.

_That which creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars... aggh... this is an illusion! Shadi put it in my mind... but even though I know it's an illusion I can't break free... is this the weakness of my heart? "Answer the riddle..." That's what Shadi said... if I solve the riddle, maybe the illusion will disappear..._

Now the undead had reached up to her eyes, which she had closed.

_Don't rush... think... think of her question... remember! That which creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars... "That which creeps on the ground" is these zombies... the pillar that they cling to is me... if I think of it the other way around... imagine a pillar standing... and coming off it, clinging to the ground..._

She suddenly opened her eyes.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed. "I know the answer! This illusion's true nature is my shadow!"

With that, the undead were gone and she was on stable ground once more.

Shadi stood in front of her.

Shadi chuckled. "Somehow you managed to clear the first stage... but I was just trying you out. The next stage is even harder. Can you keep your heart strong?"

Suddenly, a tile started cracking, and the pieces fell away. The resulting hole grew bigger. The other Yugi walked backwards to keep from falling into the hole, which stopped at several meters in diameter.

_What the hell?_ thought the other Yugi.


	10. Second Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other Yugi has solved the first riddle, but can she solve the second one?

"Something's down there under the floor!" said the other Yugi.

_It's something big, trying to crawl its way up... this is bad... I have to get away!_

The other Yugi turned to run, but a pair of clawed hands grabbed her.

_It's a monster!_ thought the other Yugi.

"You cannot escape, Yugi," said Shadi. This is the second stage of our game. Concentration or death! Hear me, Yugi! There is only one way to escape the clutches of Ammit! And that is to win!"

_First mummies, now a crocodile monster!_ thought the other Yugi. _Is this another one of Shadi's illusions?_

"That is correct," said Shadi, as though she had read her mind. "The thing that holds you, Ammit, is not "real" in the way you use the word. But illusion or real, when you feel her teeth bite you will die and Ammit will consume your soul! So you know, her last meal was the soul of the museum owner, not long ago. She must still be ravenous..."

_It was her!_ thought the other Yugi. _She killed Kanekura!_

"Yugi," said Shadi, "the only way you can survive is the clear this stage and dispell the illusion of Ammit!"

The other Yugi could feel her heart pounding.

"Allow me to explain the rules," said Shadi.

Before the other Yugi appeared a set of nine tiles on the floor, with a question mark on each one. The center one was darker than the others.

"Do you know the game 'Concentration'?" asked Shadi. "You spread out a deck of playing cards and attempt to turn over matching numbers, one at a time. Those stone plates, like cards, have pairs of pictures etched onto the reverse side."

"Hold on!" said the other Yugi. "There are nine plates! You need an even number to have pairs!"

Shadi chuckled. "That's right. There is one extra plate in the middle. In this version of the game, you must name the picture etched on that middle plate. You don't have to match the other pairs. If you can solve that puzzle, the illusion of Ammit will disappear. However... you are not allowed to turn over any of the nine stone plates."

_What?!_ thought the other Yugi.

"There is a time limit," said Shadi. "You have five minutes to answer. When that time is up, Ammit will close its jaws on your head. Heh heh. Let me tell you the key to the puzzle. Those stone plates are a mirror of Ammit!"

_A mirror of the monster?_ thought the other Yugi.

"Now, Yugi!" said Shadi. "Shake off your fear and solve this puzzle! What is the picture on the center plate?"

_How...?_ thought the other Yugi. _The picture on the center plate? Concentration? A mirror of the monster? There are too few clues to solve this puzzle! I don't know! I can't think straight! I'm too scared!_

An ushebti cracked.

_Ansei!_ thought the other Yugi. _I'll save you if it costs me my life! I'll solve this puzzle no matter what!_

Meanwhile, in the building, not-Yoshimori was still chasing Jounouchi.

_Dammit,_ she thought. _Don't you ever stop?_

She ran into a dead end.

Not-Yoshimori was still running.

She spotted something.

"Stop!" Jounouchi yelled. "Red light! Time out! Pause the game!"

Not-Yoshimori stopped in her tracks, as though to catch her breath.

"Awright! I get it!" Jounouchi said. "I'm stronger than that! I won't run anymore! I'll accept your challenge!"

She grabbed a fire extinguisher.

"Okay! Let's finish this in here!" she said, going to a door to her right. "I'll go in first, okay?" she said, partway in the door. "Then you follow me! Let's fight honorably! I'll beat you fair and square!" She was now in the room.

Not-Yoshimori followed her in.

"Extinguisher attack!" she shouted, spraying not-Yoshimori with a fire extinguisher.

"Take that, Zombie Professor!"

Not-Yoshimori yelled in pain.

"In my fights, 'fair and square' means 'anything goes!'"

Not-Yoshimori grabbed the extinguisher.

"Crap!" she said.

She delivered a left hook to not-Yoshimori's jaw.

Not-Yoshimori promptly grabbed Jounouchi by the collar of her jacket.

"H-hey! What're you doing?!" Jounouchi yelled. Not-Yoshimori seemed to be pushing her towards a window behind her.

"You're not – Wait! This is the third floor!"

But that was of no concern to not-Yoshimori, as she shoved Jounouchi out the window.

Jounouchi was falling.

She grabbed the end of one of the curtains of the now-broken window.

She heard a "pop" sound from the curtain rod.

"Ack!" she yelled.

The rod broke.

She swung forward, her face smacking into the wall. But at least she had a foothold now.

She let out a sigh of relief.

She looked up.

She saw Ansei standing on a plank attached to the roof of the building.

"Ansei!" Jounouchi yelled.

_What's he doing up there?!_ she thought.

Not-Yoshimori reached through the window in an attempt to grab Jounouchi again.

You've got to be kidding! Jounouchi thought.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Shadi said, "Yugi! You have one minute left!"

_No...!_ thought the other Yugi. _At this rate, both Ansei and I..._

She cleared her head.

_Run through everything again. Nine stone plates in all... the one in the middle is the puzzle. What was Shadi's clue? These plates are a mirror of the monster... a mirror! A mirror reflects your face and form! And since this game is Concentration... eight of the plates must hide four pairs of pictures! But the plate in the middle is left out!_

"Thirty seconds left!" said Shadi.

_If the stone plates are a mirror, then they must show parts of the monster! What does this monsters have two of? And what does it only have one of? There are two eyes, ears, hands, and nostrils!_

"Five seconds left!" said Shadi.

_And there is only one... that's it! I know the answer! There's only one..._ "Mouth!"

Ammit dissipated.

The tiles flipped over.

The other Yugi had been right.

"Yugi..." said Shadi. "You have done well to beat my second game... but this is the final stage! This challenge will be much more difficult than the ones so far!"


	11. Third Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other Yugi has succeeded in the second trial! But the third one will truly test her will...

Jounouchi shimmied sideways to get away from not-Yoshimori.

"Don't follow me out here, you stupid zombie!" said Jounouchi.

Up on the roof, Shadi said, "Yugi! This is the final game! You have done well to clear the first two stages! You still have three of your heart's ushebti holding up the boy. But now your three ushebti will shatter!"

_Curse her,_ thought the other Yugi. _She seems so confident... it's like she already knows all my weak points... but no matter what game she throws at me, I can't let my ushebti break! Ansei's life depends on it! But what can I do to break her ushebti? Does she have any weaknesses at all? Argh... I can't think of anything!_

Shadi chuckled. "You can search my heart for weaknesses, but you do so in vain... my heart's ushebti is like an unbreakable diamond. But your heart's ushebti are like alabaster, weak and easily broken! You will understand this in the next game! Let me introduce your opponent!"

Before the other Yugi stood Jounouchi, in her school uniform. She glared down at the other Yugi, then approached her. Before she could react, Jounouchi had taken her Millennium Puzzle. She chuckled darkly.

"That image of your friend is created from a memory in the other Yugi's heart. The 'friend' who bullied you in the past has been reborn before your eyes! I caught a glimpse of those memories when I visited your soul. Even if you have forgotten, those painful memories will always remain in your heart, no matter how much time passes. Yugi! In the final stage, you will play the 'Game of Death' against your friend!"

Tiles began to fall away.

"A bottomless pit?!" asked the other Yugi.

"Let me explain the rules!" said Shadi. "You will take turns throwing the Millennium Puzzle like a die! For each throw, your opponent must move two squares in the direction the tip of the puzzle points! The first one to force their opponent into the pit wins!"

_She wants me to play such a dangerous game with Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi.

"Now, Yugi!" said Shadi. "Let me see you defeat that painful memory!"

_I'm sure this Jounouchi is Shadi's illusion,_ thought the other Yugi. _But there's a chance that this is the real Jounouchi under Shadi's spell..._

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "We don't have to play this!"

Jounouchi held up the Millennium Puzzle.

"This is your 'greatest treasure', Yugi?" Jounouchi asked in a mocking tone. "Watching you makes me sick! Only a fool would care about a box!"

The other Yugi faltered. She could feel her other self in limbo, halfway between taking over and staying put.

Two ushebti shattered, and the third cracked.

_Ansei!_ the other Yugi thought, or perhaps it was the normal Yugi.

Ansei remained standing there. The plank did not move.

_Phew,_ the other Yugi thought. _Ansei is still safe!_ The other Yugi felt her other self retreat back into the puzzle. She looked up behind her. _Good,_ she thought. _One ushebti is left! Jounouchi's words reminded my other self of the way things were in the past... that must be Shadi's intent... to shock the heart of my other self... if I show any more doubt, I'll lose!_

"You want this puzzle back?" asked not-Jounouchi. "Then you got to beat me at this game."

The other Yugi was silent.

"Fine, _I'll_ go first," said not-Jounouchi. She tossed the Millennium Puzzle upward. With a couple of "clak"s, it pointed in front of not-Jounouchi.

"Yugi! Two squares toward the pit!"

The other Yugi walked towards the pit.

"It's your turn, Yugi!" said not-Jounouchi.

"I won't do it!" said the other Yugi. "I don't want to play this game with you, Jounouchi!"

_The fool,_ thought Shadi. _Will she jump into the pit on her own?!_

"...Then you pass?" asked not-Jounouchi. "My turn again!" She tossed the Millennium Puzzle again. It pointed in the same direction as last time.

"Again toward the pit!" said not-Jounouchi.

Now the other Yugi was standing at the ledge.

"Last chance." said not-Jounouchi. "Depending on how the puzzle lands, this time you might fall in the pit! You can't... want to pass again..."

"I pass!" said the other Yugi.

"Are you throwing the game?!" asked Shadi, incredulous. "Do you admit your defeat?!"

"Defeat...?" said the other Yugi. "You're _wrong,_ Shadi! It's _trust!_ I trust my friend!"

"You 'trust'..." said Shadi. She chuckled. "Yugi, it seems you are unable to defeat your past. You lose! What I was testing in this final game was the weakness of your heart in trusting too much. Trust is more easily broken than ushebti! In the end, friendship is nothing but weak hearts clinging together for solace. True strength of heart is the ability to believe in yourself... needing _no one!_ If you had sent your friend to the pit, you would have gained true strength." Turning to Jounouchi, she said, "Now throw the puzzle for the last time! End the game!"

Not-Jounouchi stood there silently.

_Wha–?_ thought Shadi. "Why don't you throw the puzzle?!"

But instead of answering, not-Jounouchi simply dissipated.

_Impossible,_ thought Shadi. _My illusion is disappearing..._

"There is no past or present for friendship!" said the other Yugi. "If you trust your friends, they will trust you!"

The other Yugi turned to where Ansei was standing. The rope supporting Ansei began to start snapping, agonizingly slowly.

It was over. All over. All that... for nothing. Ansei was –

"Uraaahh!" yelled a familiar voice. "Ansei, I'm here! Everything is going to be all right!"

_Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi.

_What?!_ thought Shadi. _Impossible... It's as if they support each other... without hesitating for an instant..._

An ushebti cracked, but it wasn't the other Yugi's.

_M-my heart's ushebti..._ Shadi thought.

"Shadi," said the other Yugi, "you probably won't understand this, but true strength of the heart can't be gained alone! The power to trust your friends! That is the true strength of the heart!

Shadi's ushebti cracked further.

It finally shattered.

The Millennium Key slid down a rope. It made contact with Ansei's hand.

Ansei was no longer staring blankly. He blinked.

"Huh?" he asked. One minute, he was in the archaeology lab. The next, he was seeing the night sky, wind blowing in his hair.

He looked down.

He let out a "Yieee!" as he went down onto his knees. He heard a familiar "Urk..." behind him. "H-hey Ansei!" yelled Jounouchi. "You're too heavy! Get up on the roof!"

Ansei looked down behind himself to see that he was standing on a plank attached to the roof of a building. Jounouchi was holding up a plank.

"Jounouchi?! What are you doing there?"

"Shaddup!" said Jounouchi. "That's what _I'd_ like to know!"

"But I-I'm scared!" said Ansei. "I can't move! I'm gonna fall!"

Not-Yoshimori was right below Jounouchi, about to grab the handhold at Jounouchi's feet.

"The zombie professor!" yelled Jounouchi. "No! Down! Don't climb up here!"

But of course not-Yoshimori ignored her.

"Ansei! Hurry up!" yelled Jounouchi.

"Okay, I'll try," said Ansei. _Don't look down,_ he thought.

Not-Yoshimori grabbed Jounouchi's leg.

Ansei made his way to the roof.

_I can't hold on,_ thought Jounouchi.

The plank slipped. Ansei began to fall backwards.

But somebody grabbed his hand, and pulled him onto the roof.

_Huh...?! Yugi...?_ he thought.

_Good,_ Jounouchi thought. _Ansei's safe._ "Now to do something about this woman!" she said out loud.

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "Make the professor touch that ankh-shaped key!"

"Huh?" said Jounouchi. She turned her head and spotted said object.

"Is this it?" she asked.

She did as she was told.

"Huh...?" said Professor Yoshimori.

"Professor!" said Jounouchi. "Are you back to normal?"

"What?" asked the professor. "Oh, you're Jounouchi, aren't you..."

"Forget it, okay?" said Jounouchi. "Just don't look down."

The professor did, in fact, look down.

"Aaack! My teeth!" she yelled.

Sugako was on the roof by the time Jounouchi made her way there.

"Yo! Granny! You all right?!" asked Jounouchi.

"I was kind of knocked out for a little while..." she admitted. "In any case, looks like everyone is okay!"

While everyone else was talking, the other Yugi approached Shadi.

"Yugi," she said, seeming to slowly dissipate. "You have passed all of the tests... it is my complete defeat... I used the Millennium Items to show you illusions... illusions summoned from the shadows... and yet, to me... the image of you and your friends _trusting_ and _helping_ each other, here in this world, seems like an illusion... somehow, that seems sad..."

"Shadi..." said the other Yugi. "I've realized something about the power of the Millennium Puzzle..."

Shadi wore a look of surprise.

"No matter how far apart we are, friends will always come together as one! We are small pieces that bind together to become an undefeatable power! Just like a puzzle! The power of unity! That is the power of the Millennium Puzzle!"

Shadi's eyes widened further.

The rest of the group looked at Shadi.

"Hey, you in the dress!" said Jounouchi, brows furrowed. "I don't know how you did all this, but this is _our_ place! You better not come here anymore!"

"Yes... that is true..." said Shadi. She turned around.

"Yugi... you have passed my tests... I have been beaten, but I am pleased... my bloodline has been searching for so long... for someone like you."

The other Yugi was confused.

"You may be able to open _that door..._ " she said.

The other Yugi stood there in silence.

"What the...?!" said Jounouchi. "What is that jerk talking about?"

"Hey, Jounouchi," Ansei whispered, "Doesn't Yugi... seem a little different from normal?"

"Yeah, I saw that too!" she whispered back.

"What does it mean?" Ansei asked.

Jounouchi snuck up carefully on her.

"Hey Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

Yugi's face seemed different for just half a second, but that was probably Jounouchi's imagination.

"What's wrong, Jounouchi?" asked Yugi.

"Er... ah... nothing's wrong! How are ya doing?" Jounouchi stuttered.

"Y-yeah!" said Ansei, similarly nervous.

_Am I crazy?_ they both thought.

"Everyone..." said Professor Yoshimori. "Thank you for coming to my lab. I'm sorry I couldn't offer you anything..." She couldn't remember a thing, and was hurting all over.

"All right!" said Sugako. "Why don't we all go out to eat?"

"Awright!" everyone said.

"I want burgers!" said Yugi.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, the Millennium Key fell down. Shadi caught it.

_Goodbye, Yugi,_ she thought. _We shall meet again!_

And with that, life was back to normal... for now, anyway...


	12. Capsule-vania!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new game, Capsule Monsters, has become very popular! But somebody has challenged Yugi to a game, in revenge for Kaiba's penalty game...

It had been several weeks since the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had played Shadi's Shadow Games, not that Yugi could remember a thing about it. As far as Yugi knew, one moment she was being threatened by the possiblity of Ansei's death, the next, she was on the roof, Professor Yoshimori missing most of her teeth and apparently not remembering a thing either.

At the moment, Yugi was on her way home from school. She passed by a candy store. This story always had a crowd of kids around it, and today was no different. They were fighting over one particular machine. A Capsule Monsters machine. Capsule Monsters, or Capmon, was the latest craze with elementary and middle school students. They were egg-shaped capsules with different monsters inside. It was played like chess, with two players picking five monsters and pitting them against each other, on an 8x8 game board. The goal of the game was to defeat all your opponent's monsters. Different monsters had different powers and movement abilities, so strategy was key. Furthermore, one could not see their opponent's monsters until the start of the game.

"Hey, I'm next! No cutting in line!" Yugi said to some kid.

"'Cutting?'" he said incredulously. "You were just spacing out! Besides, aren't you in high school? You're too old to play Capmon!"

Yugi laughed nervously. "Listen... age doesn't mean anything to a real gamer!" _What a brat,_ she thought.

"Huh!" said the kid. "If you want it that much, then you can go first, _this time,_ " he said, putting an acidic emphasis on the last two words.

" _Gee,_ thanks a lot," Yugi said sarcastically.

Yugi put one hundred yen into the machine. However, something went wrong.

"What?! Where's my capsule?! It ate my money!" She growled. "Grr! Come on, you stupid machine!"

The kids were laughing at her.

Someone hit her over the head.

"Hey kid!" said an old man. "Don't hit the machine! You think I'll let you break it just because you lost a hundred yen? This machine is expensive! It's worth more than you are!" Old Man Dentures, as he was known, was very strict with the rules.

Yugi stuttered out an apology.

Behind the group walked an ten-year-old girl with long, messy black hair and slightly darker skin than the other kids.

"Hey, isn't that...?!" said one of the kids.

"No way! It's Kaiba!" said another. "The Capsule Monster Champion!"

"Hey Yugi!" said apparently-Kaiba.

"Huh...?!" Yugi said, confused.

"You're Yugi Mutou, aren't you?" the kid asked.

_Who's she? How does she know my name...?! She looks like a grade schooler, but..._

The kid interrupted her thoughts with a chuckle. "Don't rack your brain! You don't know me. This is the first time we've met. But I know all about you!"

Yugi stared blankly at her. Last time she checked, she wasn't particularly well-known!

"You know Setomi Kaiba, don't you?" said the kid. "She's my big sister!"

_Kaiba's little sister?!_ Yugi thought. _Kaiba, the Duel Monsters expert...?!_

"I get it!" said Yugi. "You must be Kaiba's – "

"Sheesh..." said the kid. "My sister masters _any_ game she plays. She's my hero. I can't believe that a little shrimp like you actually beat her...I thought you might be pretty cool, but I guess I was wrong!" There may not have been a strong _physical_ resemblance between them, but they _more_ than made up for it in attitude!

Yugi turned her head back. The other kids had been quiet ever since Kaiba's sister got here.

"I'm pretty good at Capmon!" said the kid. "I won the last tournament. What about you, Yugi? It looks like you play it too!"

"Well... I'm not that good!" said Yugi. "I just started a little while ago!"

The kid chuckled. "Don't be so modest!"

Suddenly, the kid's brows furrowed, and she yelled, "Get her!"

Suddenly, the other kids had Yugi surrounded. One of them even had a taser!

"Where did you get those from?!" asked Yugi.

"Those are my followers!" said the kid. "Don't even _think_ of trying to escape!"

Sweat formed on Yugi's face. This was not going to be an ordinary day. Now that Yugi thought about it, she had a lot of days that weren't ordinary.

The kid turned to the old man. "Hey, Dentures!" she said. "We'll take this machine!"

"Why you little – " said Dentures, but interrupted his own sentence with an "Oh?" when he saw a wad of bills at his feet.

"Keep the change!" said the kid.

"Please come again!" said Dentures.

Yugi wanted to make some kind of snarky comment on the kid throwing money at her problems, but couldn't think of anything clever.

"All right, Yugi!" said the kid. "I'm going to take you someplace special. Aren't you excited?!"

Yugi stood there silently, sweat forming on her face, jaw agape.

_This is it, big sister,_ thought the kid. _You will be avenged!_

Much, much later, the group was at an abandoned warehouse.

"This is our secret hideout!" explained the kid. "Now do you get it? You have to play Capsule Monster Chess with me!"

"Uh... please take it easy on me..." said Yugi, sweating.

"What _is_ this girl?" asked one kid with particularly ill-styled bangs. "Are all high schoolers this wimpy?"

Yugi was silent.

"You got something to say, skinny?!"

Another kid, with a bowl cut, said, "You mess with us and we'll burn your house down!" Looking down, Bowl Cut said, "Look at this stupid necklace! Let's smash it!"

"Give it here!" said Ugly Bangs, reaching for the Millennium Puzzle.

The other Yugi took over.

"Get your filthy hands off the puzzle, you little brats!" shouted the other Yugi.

Most of the kids, except for the girl, were cowed.

"K-Kaiba! Sh-she's not the same anymore!" said one of them.

"That's okay!" said the kid. "I know what's up. My sister told me about it. She said Yugi turns into a different person when she games... _that's_ the Yugi I want to beat!"

"Quit bragging and let's play!" said the other Yugi.

The kid set a board down at the table the group had gathered at.

"I've chosen Battlefield 7, Crisis Hill. It's the board I do best at!"

"Prepare your Capsule Monsters," said the other Yugi. "You can use any level you like!" She was confident that she could beat this little brat no matter what she had planned.

The kid chuckled. "That's why I brought the coin machine! If I used my regular collection, there wouldn't be any challenge! You! Take turns drawing capsules! First Yugi, then me!"

The other Yugi inserted one hundred yen into the machine. "Tch... Level 1..." she muttered.

"My turn!" exclaimed the kid. After inserting her one hundred yen, she proclaimed, "All right! I got a Level 5! Good for me, bad for you! And don't complain! Luck is a part of skill!"

In the end, the other Yugi ended up with three Level 1s, a Level 2, and a Level 4, while the kid had two Level 4s and three Level 5s.

The kid laughed. "Looks like the battle is over before it's even started!" _Gotcha! The machine was rigged! I even paid "Dentures" to act her part!_ She mentally chuckled. Out loud, she said, "But before we get going... this game needs some danger to make it interesting!" 

_Another things these sisters have in common,_ thought the other Yugi. 

"If you lose, I'll cut off your finger with this!" the kid said, holding up a small knife.

_What is even the point of that?_ thought the other Yugi. Out loud, she said, "Okay! But if I win, you have to play a penalty game as punishment!"

To play the game, both players set their monsters anywhere on their side of the field. However, the only thing one knows about the opponent's monsters is their levels. Strategic placement of monsters is key to winning.

After the two placed their monsters on the field, the kid said, "Let's go, Yugi! Game start!"

The kid's monsters were The Skull, a level 4 monster that looked like a horned skull held up seemingly by shadows, Dinosaur Wing, a level 5 monster that looked like a classic medieval European dragon, Cobrada, a level 4 monster that looked like a demonic cobra, Gumbo, a level 5 monster that looked like the lovechild of a pit bull and a gargoyle, and Headsucker, a monster that looked like a dragon skull.

The other Yugi's monsters were Devil Castle, a level 1 monster that looked like a tower with a face, Flower Man, a level 1 monster that looked like a flower with legs instead of a stem, Eye Mouth, a level 1 monster that looked like a blob with an eye inside its mouth, The Great Pa, a level 4 monster that looked like a warrior with tiny bead eyes, and Torigun, a level 2 monster that looked like a yellow vulture.

"I'll go first!" said the kid. _Yugi's layout is like a beginner,_ she thought.

"Just so you know, this is a Shadow Game," said the other Yugi.

"Hmph!" said the kid. "I _knew_ this game would be special! Then I'll make sure to attack right away!" She moved Gumbo.

"I'll meet you head on!" said the other Yugi, moving Eye Mouth.

"Stupid!" said the kid. "You came at me with a low level monster!" She laughed. "I'll show you who's the better player! Fight!" Gumbo attacked Eye Mouth, and predictably, Eye Mouth was defeated. The kid laughed again. "One down, four to go!"

The other Yugi chuckled.

"Wh-what are you laughing at?!" asked the kid, incredulous. "You're the one who lost!"

"I'll teach you the rules of gaming!" said the other Yugi. "No matter the circumstances, always act like you have the upper hand! That's rule number one!"

"Y-you think you can teach me?!" said the kid, outraged. She had been playing games for years! She learned from the best! Who was this girl to act like _she_ was the expert?!

"Stay cool at all times!" said the other Yugi, ignoring the kid's outburst. "That's rule number two!"

The kid made incomprehensible sounds of anger.

"Now I'll go on the offensive," said the other Yugi, moving The Great Pa. "Take a look at your monsters' positions on the field!"

The kid's eyes widened. "Th-they're lined up diagonally!"

"My last monster, the Torigun... it's low-level, it can't make sharp turns, and it's terrible at close combat, but it has one special talent... once per game it can defeat any number of enemies, even Level 5s, in a diagonal super attack!"

_Th-that's... Yugi sacrificed all of her monsters but one...? Just to draw my four into a line...!_

"Whirlwind Razor Beak Slash!" announced the other Yugi. "Hold your trump card until the end! Rule number three! Remember it well!"

_I lost! Me!_ thought the kid.

"Penalty game!" said the other Yugi.

The kid's eyes widened.

"Wh-what's going on?!" asked the kid. "A capsule over my head?!" _Th-this is what made my sister go crazy!_ she thought. She chuckled.

"Yugi... my sister's revenge is well under way! The secret project, Death-T, is coming! I'll be back!"

_Death-T?!_ thought the other Yugi.

The kid screamed.

"Too bad, but you aren't a match for me!" said the other Yugi. "Think about that while you're trapped in your capsule! We can play again later... when you've learned the rules!"

The kid screamed again. "It's dark! I can't move! I'm scared! Big sister! Help me!"

"K-Kaiba!" said one of the kids. What was going on? One moment she had lost, the next she was putting up her hands like a pantomime and yelling for her sister!


	13. Wheel of Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaiba has invited Yugi and Jounouchi to see her new theme park, Death-T. But something seems off about the meal Mokuno has prepared...

It had been several weeks since Yugi beat Mokuno at Capsule Monsters. Or rather, the _other_ Yugi. Yugi herself couldn't remember a thing.

Yugi was walking with Jounouchi when a black vehicle moved into view in the corner of her eye. It slowed to a stop, and an older man stepped out of the vehicle. Yugi and Jounouchi turned to the vehicle. She could only gape.

"Mistress Yugi and her friend, I presume?" the man said. "Mistress Setomi cordially requests your presence at her house!"

_Kaiba?!_ Yugi thought. What did Kaiba want to have to do with Yugi? She doubted that whatever Kaiba had planned was anything benevolent. She remembered Kaiba being really aggressive when Yugi had confronted her about stealing Grandma's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. _I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt,_ thought Yugi. Maybe Kaiba was going to apologize? Yugi was still going to be cautious, though. She may have been optimistic, but she wasn't stupid.

Upon seeing Yugi step into the vehicle, Jounouchi followed. If Yugi was going to step into a trap set by Kaiba, Jounouchi had to be there to help her get out of whatever jam she was about to be in. _That's what friends are for,_ thought Jounouchi. The vehicle started moving.

"Why is Kaiba inviting us to her house?" asked Jounouchi.

"She hasn't been at school recently..." Yugi said, trailing off.

"Yes," said the driver. "Mistress Setomi has been busy. She has been working on an important project. She _is_ the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, after all."

"What?!" said Jounouchi. "The CEO of Kaiba Corp?! The biggest amusement company in the business? But she's still in high school!"

"What's Kaiba Corp?" asked Yugi. She didn't get out of the house that much before befriending Jounouchi, except to go to school, and even there, she didn't talk about much outside of school and whatever game she was really into at the moment.

"It's one of the top companies in the world in the toy and game business!" Jounouchi answered.

_So that's why Kaiba is so proud of being a great gamer,_ thought Yugi.

"And I'm the vice president," a young girl's voice said. It belonged to the ten-year-old in the shotgun seat. "It's been a while, Yugi!" she said. Yugi remembered her. She bragged constantly about being great at Capsule Monsters, until (from what Yugi could piece together from what others said) Yugi had beaten her at it.

"You're Kaiba's little sister!" Yugi exclaimed. _A_ grade schooler _is the vice president?_ Yugi thought disbelievingly.

"Heh, I didn't tell you my name last time. It's Mokuno. Mokuno Kaiba!" Yugi sat there in silence. _I have a bad feeling about this,_ Yugi thought. _I know those two don't like me all that much..._

"Hey Yugi, relax!" said Mokuno. "You're going to get the VIP treatment! The project my big sister was working on is finished. The opening ceremonies are tomorrow!"

"Opening ceremonies...?" wondered Jounouchi.

"Heh," said Mokuno, ignoring Jounouchi. "So anyway, my thoughtful, considerate sister wanted her two friends to be the first to enjoy it. So she's giving you a special invitation, which includes the pre-opening celebration tonight!" Yugi doubted Kaiba actually considered her and Jounouchi to be her friends.

"What's this project?" Yugi asked cautiously.

"That's a secret," Mokuno said. "You'll have to wait to find out!" She then chuckled to herself. Now Yugi was definitely suspicious of the Kaiba sisters.

_This is it, Yugi,_ thought Mokuno. _This project is our revenge on you! This is Death-T!_

After an otherwise silent drive that felt like forever, a mansion arrived into view. "We have arrived at the Kaiba residence," said the driver.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Jounouchi exclaimed. _House is an understatement,_ she thought. Yugi, Jounouchi, and Mokuno passed through the gates and walked down the path, entering the mansion through double doors.

"Wow!" Yugi and Jounouchi exclaimed. "It's like a European castle!" Jounouchi added, impressed at the architecture.

"Welcome, we have been waiting for you," said a rather deformed-looking bald woman in comically-small glasses.

Mokuno chuckled. "These are our servants," she explained.

The woman approached Yugi. "You are Mistress Setomi's school friend, Yugi, are you not? Mistress Setomi has ordered us to make your stay as pleasant as possible."

"Hey, where's my sister?" asked Mokuno.

"Yes," said the woman. "She retired to her rooms a while ago."

"What's her problem?! Why isn't she here for the pre-opening celebration?" Mokuno asked.

"Mistress Mokuno, Mistress Setomi has been working nonstop these last few days," the woman explained patiently. "I believe it would be best not to disturb her sleep."

"Sorry 'bout this, Yugi," said Mokuno. "Looks like my big sister won't be able to see you for a while. So tonight you're my guests! I'll take good care of you!"

"Mistress Mokuno," said the woman, "Shall we prepare a meal?"

"Yeah! That sounds good! I'm starving!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"What?! Why didn't you say something?" asked Mokuno. "I'll treat you to the best food in the world!"

"Wow! The best food in the world!" exclaimed Jounouchi. Maybe the Kaibas weren't so bad after all!

"I wonder if it will be gourmet food?" said Yugi.

"You!" Mokuno said to the woman. "Prepare the special course!"

"Yes, ma'am!" said the woman. "We will serve it at once!"

Mokuno chuckled under her breath. "We're both going to enjoy this..."

"This is going to be great!" said Yugi and Jounouchi, oblivious to the smirk Mokuno had on her face as her back was turned to them.

_No one beats me at Capsule Monster Chess,_ Mokuno thought. _Or anything else! Tonight, it's payback, Yugi!_

When the dinner was prepared, Mokuno walked Yugi and Jounouchi to a table. "Dinner is served!" Mokuno exclaimed.

"Huh?" asked Jounouchi. The sight in front of them was bizarre. On the table was what appeared to be a turntable painted into six equal triangular sections, three black and three red, like the sections of a Russian Roulette wheel. On each section was... _ordinary food items?_ A plate with a burger and soda, some kind of ice cream sundae in a tall, skinny glass, a plate with rice and an egg, a plate with pancakes with some butter on top, a plate of spaghetti, and a plate with a small pizza.

_Ugh,_ thought Jounouchi. _I was hoping for some fantastic cooking, but this is... just what a spoiled kid would think of!_

"What do you think?!" Mokuno asked, laughing. "Doesn't it look good?! Don't hold back, dig in! ...That's what I'd _like_ to say, but that wouldn't be interesting! What do you think about playing a little game?"

"A game?!" Yugi asked, eyes widening in fear. Yugi wondered what Mokuno's definition of interesting was, and what sort of game could be made with a turntable full of food, let alone an _interesting_ one, as Mokuno put it.

"See this circle?" Mokuno explained. "It's a turntable like they use at Chinese restaurants! The three of us take turns spinning the table! Then we eat the food in front of us!"

"There isn't any _poison_ in the food, is there?!" Jounouchi asked. She probably jinxed it, but it was too late now.

Mokuno laughed. "That would be rude! I'd _never_ do that to a guest!" Yugi thought she detected sarcasm in her words. "Actually, there's a wonderful treasure hidden in these dishes! The person who finds it, wins!"

"All right, let's do it!" Jounouchi exclaimed. She apparently didn't catch Mokuno's irony.

"Then you start, Jounouchi!" said Mokuno. _Heh heh... All according to plan!_ she thought. If this went well, Setomi would be so proud of her.

Jounouchi spun the turntable. After spinning for a bit, it came to a stop. "Ack! The kiddie lunch?!" exclaimed Jounouchi. Was she seriously going to have to eat that? She was way too old for such things!

"You have to clean your plate, Jounouchi," Mokuno said, an evil grin on her face. "That's the rules of the game! And you might find the treasure!"

"Awright! I get it!" Jounouchi exclaimed, digging in. "Hey, this isn't bad!" Mokuno's smile, however, grew darker. "Um..." said Jounouchi. Something was not right. Why did Mokuno have that look on her face? Why was Jounouchi feeling so suddenly ill?!

"Jounouchi, what's wrong?!" Yugi yelled, eyes widening. _Something_ was definitely wrong, and from the look on Mokuno's face, she had something to do with it.

"Jounouchi!" Yugi yelled, as her friend leaned down, as though to vomit. Jounouchi let out an "Urrgh...".

"Bingo!" exclaimed Mokuno, grin widening. "Looks like you got the _prize,_ Jounouchi!" Mokuno's irony was all too clear now. She let out a malevolent laugh.

"Y-you mean..." Yugi stuttered.

Mokuno laughed once more. "She was right all along. It _was_ poisoned! I call this game "Russian Roulette Dinner! 'Cause if you eat the wrong thing, you'll die of poison in 30 minutes!"

"Russian Roulette?!" Yugi yelled. _She's trying to kill us!_ she thought. They should not have trusted Mokuno. Was Kaiba's project even real, or had Mokuno made that up, too?!

"You want to save Jounouchi?" asked Mokuno tauntingly. "Then you've got to _win_ and get this antidote!"

Yugi's head pounded. Her vision went dark as she transformed once more. The other Yugi had taken over once more.

_Ha ha... She's changing like before!_ Mokuno thought gleefully. _Today I'll finally defeat the other Yugi!_

"Mokuno! This time you're _dead!_ " the other Yugi yelled.

Mokuno chuckled. "Big words... There are only five dishes left... And there's one more 'prize' among them. Yugi! It's your move!"

The other Yugi glared at Mokuno, before spinning the turntable. Eventually, it stopped with the spaghetti in front of her.

"Well, well! Spaghetti!" said Mokuno. "Eat up, Yugi! Like they say in Italy, 'Mangia! Mangia!'"

The other Yugi ate the spaghetti. She did not feel ill, except maybe from the stress of possibly eating poisoned food like Jounouchi had.

"You're safe!" Mokuno exclaimed, with a psychotic grin not unlike her sister's. "I guess the poison wasn't in the spaghetti! Yugi! How was that? After you eat, you think, 'Boy, I'm glad I didn't die!' This meal makes you experience the joy of living! That makes it 'The best meal in the world!"

_Urk..._ thought the other Yugi. _I only have half an hour to save Jounouchi..._

"Now, next is my turn!" Mokuno exclaimed, grin having faded to a smirk. The other Yugi noticed Mokuno touching the bottle at her seat before spinning the turntable.

"Yahoo!" she exclaimed when the turntable stopped. "Chocolate parfait! My favorite!" She ate it gleefully.

_Strange,_ the other Yugi thought. _Mokuno isn't at all nervous about playing this dangerous game. That brat... She must be using some kind of trick._ Out loud, she asked, "Hey, Mokuno. What's in that bottle?"

Mokuno laughed nervously, sweat forming on her face. She was a terrible liar when put on the spot like this. She hadn't thought of what to say if anyone asked about the bottle. "It's a syrup bottle," she said. "There are pancakes, aren't there?" Hopefully the other Yugi would buy it. If she was found out...

"Then why's it empty?" the other Yugi asked. Something was up.

"I'll tell you why," said Mokuno, face still sweating. "Because this bottle will be filled for the first time as soon as you eat the poison! Like they say, 'The suffering of others makes the sweetest syrup!" She hoped she got that expression right. And she was desperately hoping the other Yugi did not pick up on her lie. "Now _Yugi!_ It's your turn next!" _Phew,_ thought Mokuno. _I got a chill when Yugi noticed this bottle, but I bluffed throught it somehow... it's actually a switch. It lets me stop the table wherever I want. The game ends next turn! I'll give you a taste of the poison! The poison is in the hamburger! And next time, Yugi, I'll stop it in front of you!_

The other Yugi had a plan. "Mokuno, let's finish this in one go!" she said, to distract Mokuno. "On the next turn, let's both eat the dishes that end up in front of us!"

"All right!" exclaimed Mokuno.

"Let's go!" exclaimed the other Yugi, spinning the turntable. _Fool!_ Mokuno thought. _You can spin the table as hard as you like, but the poisoned hamburger will always stop in front of you as long as I have this switch!_ There was no way Yugi could figure out the mechanism behind the switch. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The bottle broke with a "crash!" before Mokuno could blink. "Wha...?" she cried out. _T-the switch is broken?! H-how?!_

The other Yugi chuckled. "Now there's no cheating. Win or lose, the game is up to luck!"

Mokuno's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as the burger stopped in front of her. _Impossible!_ she thought. _Why did the switch break?!_ She then saw how. The giant pendent Yugi constantly wore around her neck had been tied to one of the pegs meant to be used to spin the turntable. _Urk.... W-when did she... How did she... She attached her pendant to the turntable... I hate you, Yugi!_

"Mokuno, I've finished the pancakes. Since there's nothing wrong with me, I must have missed the poison!" Mokuno could only stare. "Weren't the rules to clean your plate?" the other Yugi reminded Mokuno. Mokuno growled under her breath.

"Okay!" Mokuno yelled. "I'll eat it!" One bite in, and she let out an "Urgh!" as she felt her stomach churning. "Ack!" she yelled. "Help me!"

The woman from before entered the room, asking, "M-Mistress Mokuno! What is it?"

Meanwhile, the other Yugi handed the antidote to Jounouchi. _So tomorrow the mysterious project finally starts..._ she thought. _What are you planning, Kaiba?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original manga, Kaiba's servants called him "Master Seto." When I was first writing this chapter, I had the servants refer to Kaiba and Mokuno as "Master Setomi" and "Master Mokuno," but something seemed grammatically off about that. So, I changed it. It seems that, if that was any indication, some words are gendered in some contexts but not others (e.g., you might call a woman who is skilled at something a "[fill-in-the-activity] master" or a "master [fill-in-the-profession]", but referring to her as "Master [fill-in-the-name]" might sound grammatically off).


	14. Death-T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and Jounouchi have made it to Kaiba's theme park, Kaiba Land. But things are not as they seem...

_I actually lost at Duel Monsters?!_ Kaiba thought, after being attacked by her own Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The one that by all rights belonged to her. Yugi was delivering what she called a Penalty Game... Kaiba was being chased by those horrific monsters... One of the more eldritch-looking ones had gotten her around her neck and shoulders, as other monsters were about to attack her. She could only scream. _Is... Is this what death feels like?!_ she thought. She could only think of the face of the girl who put her through all this...

Kaiba gasped as she woke with a start. Thankfully, she was in her own bedroom, and not some alternate reality where Duel Monsters were very real and very aggressive. "Th-that dream again..." she thought, panting. She had been having that nightmare every time she slept, wreaking havoc on her already terrible sleep schedule. She had been staying up later and later, not only to work on her project for Kaiba Corporation, but also to keep the nightmares at bay. After all, if she didn't sleep, she couldn't have nightmares... right? But she had been trying to at least get _some_ sleep, even if it wasn't much. She didn't want to experience the hallucinations that would haunt her in daylight if they couldn't do so at night. She had, unfortunately, learned that the hard way in childhood...

She went to a window and opened it, letting the sunlight fall upon her gaunt, angular face. She hoped her insomnia wasn't too obvious to other people.

"Good morning, Mistress Setomi," said Dai. "As you requested, Yugi and her friend spent the night at the mansion."

"I see," said Kaiba, closing her briefcase, which had been resting on a round table.

Putting a heavy robe on Kaiba, in a manner not unlike a servant dressing her queen, Dai said, "I had planned to give them a special welcome, but I couldn't stay awake..."

_There are some nights when you can hardly wait until morning comes,_ thought Kaiba, after Dai had finished putting the robe on her. She turned towards the door and left the room. _How ironic to have that dream again last night... Heh heh... But after this is over, I'll never have that nightmare again... Yugi... Death-T starts today!_

Meanwhile, at the long, rectangular dining table, Yugi met up with Jounouchi. "Do you feel better, Jounouchi?" asked Yugi.

"Yup!" exclaimed Jounouchi. All I needed was a good night's sleep! But I hate staying at Kaiba's house! Makes me feel like I owe her a favor!"

"I wonder if Grandma's worried," said Yugi. "I was out all night without calling her..."

"Hey Yugi! What's with this 'opening ceremony' that's supposed to start today?" asked Jounouchi.

"Dunno. But I have a bad feeling about it!" Yugi said. _I feel like we're in jail, she thought. Like they're guarding us so we don't escape the mansion. And they locked us in..._

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said the bald woman from yesterday. "Mistress Setomi will see you now. Yugi and Jounouchi turned to the staircase. At the top was none other than Setomi Kaiba.

"Good to see you, Yugi!" said Kaiba, a false smile on her face. "I've missed you so much!" Yugi had a feeling Kaiba didn't really miss her.

"Why the long faces?" asked Kaiba, as though she didn't already know. "It's been so long since I've seen you. Come on, Yugi, Jounouchi! Let's have some fun together!"

"Cut the crap, Kaiba!" yelled Jounouchi. "You forced us to come here! Your sister almost killed us! And you expect us to be happy to see you?!"

"Mokuno...?" asked Kaiba. "That was bad of her..." _Bad of her to fail,_ Kaiba added mentally. "You'll have to forgive her little games."

"You don't get almost killed by 'little games!'" Jounouchi yelled. She was fuming now. Why was Kaiba pretending to be all nice?! Yugi and her knew that Kaiba was responsible for stealing Yugi's grandma's Blue-Eyes! What was the damn point?!

"Where are you taking us, Kaiba?" Yugi asked, much calmer than Jounouchi but just as angry.

Kaiba merely chuckled. "A place you can only _dream_ of! Well then! We're wasting time! We must leave at once!"

As the three of them left the building, Kaiba said, "I can't wait for you to see this, Yugi!"

"Have a good trip, Mistress Setomi!" said one of the servants.

When they left the gates of the mansion, they entered a six-door limousine. As it made its way to wherever Kaiba had in mind, she said, "As you know, I own Kaiba Corporation. I had to take over when my mother, the founder, passed away six months ago. But my dream project is finally complete! I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I have." Pointing to a distant skyscraper, she said, "Look! You can see it from here! My tower of dreams that soars over Domino!"

"Wow!" exclaimed Yugi. "You built this skyscraper, Kaiba?!"

"This is Kaiba Land!" said Kaiba. "It's an indoor amusement park!"

The three left the limousine.

"We have been waiting for you, ma'am," said a man in one of two rows of men, who facing each other, bowing down for Kaiba. These rows were between two crowds of excited little kids.

"Look! It's Kaiba, the Queen of Games!" exclaimed one kid. "The world's greatest gamer! She's my hero!" another exclaimed.

"Hello, everyone!" Kaiba said, instantly quieting the crowd. "Welcome to the grand opening of Kaiba Land!"

"Geez, the kids like her," muttered Jounouchi. Yugi was silent.

"Yugi!" said Kaiba. "Kaiba Land is scheduled to open in three days, but there's a special event today, so we're opening the doors to certain children by invitation only before the official opening, for free of course!" Turning to Yugi, with a smile that seemed a little too wide, she said, "And I want _you_ to have fun too!"

_Huh, I guess she's not as bad as I thought,_ thought Jounouchi.

_Maybe I'm worrying too much,_ thought Yugi.

"Well, then, everyone! We are open!" Kaiba announced. "Welcome to Kaiba Land!" The children rushed into the building.

"Do you see now, Yugi?" asked Kaiba. "My dream is to open Kaiba Lands all over the world for children everywhere to enjoy!"

_I'm sorry, Kaiba..._ thought Yugi. _I misunderstood you..._

"Awright! Let's go play too!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Okay!" agreed Yugi.

"I know what you did, Setomi!" a voice yelled. "You _killed_ the CEO! You took over Kaiba Corporation and drove the CEO, _your own mother,_ to commit suicide! You're the devil incarnate!"

"Throw him out," said Kaiba nonchalantly to some nearby security guards.

"Yes ma'am!" said one of the guards. They grabbed the accuser by his shirt, as he protested.

"He _used_ to be my mother's right-hand man, but now he's a worthless _has-been,_ " said Kaiba. "There have been many rumors... My mother's death was a tragedy, but I had nothing to do with it. I think my mother was able to die in peace knowing I would take over for her..."

_Kaiba is acting completely different from before!_ Yugi thought. _Which is her true face...?_

"Well then, Yugi! Let me show you around the park!" said Kaiba, smiling once more.

As they walked, Kaiba began to talk about how Kaiba Land was built. "No expense was spared on Kaiba Land. Everything in the park is on the cutting edge of technology," Kaiba explained. "Try our 3D simulation rides!" she said when she, Yugi, and Jounouchi arrived at one of the rides. The ride was exciting. At one point, a monster "appeared" on the ride, making everyone scream.

"This is _virtual reality?!_ " Jounouchi asked. "This is intense! It looks just like a real monster!" After getting off the ride, Kaiba said, "The real fun is yet to come! What I'm about to show you is the biggest attraction of this opening ceremony! I've prepared a special show just for you, Yugi!"

"Just for me?!" exclaimed Yugi. "Oh, come on! You didn't have to! I can hear people cheering!"

Kaiba chuckled darkly under her breath. "It's beyond these doors! After you!" Kaiba exclaimed with enthusiam true in degree but false in intent. "You've got reserved seats!" Yugi and Jounouchi went through the doors.

"What the..." said Jounouchi. "It looks like an arena! There's a cube in the middle?"

Yugi let out a startled yelp. "That's my grandma!" _What in the world is Grandma doing here?!_ thought Yugi.

"Grandma!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Yugi!" exclaimed Sugako. She attempted to explain her situation, but her granddaughter only looked at her in confusion.

"I can see your lips moving, but I can't hear anything!" Yugi said, not that she expected Grandma to hear.

_It's no good, she can't hear me,_ thought Sugako. _Last night Kaiba's men kidnapped me and brought me here... They said they'd kill Yugi if I didn't come along! Thank God she's safe! Yugi! Kaiba is up to something!_

A security guard pushed Yugi away from the cube.

The crowd continued cheering for Kaiba.

Kaiba removed her robe, revealing a white jacket with a collar, decorated with golden accents, and similarly white slacks. _Yugi,_ thought Kaiba. _Once, you humilated me by defeating me at Duel Monsters! The day has come to avenge that shame! You will repay me with your death!_

"Grandma!" Yugi yelled helplessly.

"I knew she was a jerk! What's she up to?!" yelled Jounouchi.

"For your entertainment, you will now witness a match of the world's number one collectible card game, Duel Monsters!" announced Kaiba. "My challenger is this lady, Sugako Mutou! She is said to be a game master who has never lost a duel!"

"Duel Monsters?!" Yugi cried out, shocked. "Grandma and Kaiba?!"

The crowd mocked Sugako.

_Yugi, I will win!_ thought Sugako. She would win against that whippersnapper Kaiba if it was the last thing she did!

After entering the cube, Kaiba chuckled darkly. "Listen, old woman... Don't hold back! Hit me with your strongest cards!"

"Don't worry," said Sugako defiantly. "I plan to!" _My deck holds the strongest card on Earth, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! The moment I draw that card, I win!_ There was no way Sugako would lose. She had far more dueling experience than Kaiba.

"Game start!" said Kaiba. "Incidentally, old woman, this cube is a high-tech product made especially for this game. It may be hard on someone of your advanced age..." she added. Sugako looked at her in confusion. Kaiba chuckled. "Well, let me just show you. When I place this card on the field," she said, placing the card "Hitotsu-Me Giant", with 1200 attack points and 1000 defense points, on the field, "the four walls of the cube project the card as a three dimensional image!" What happened amazed Sugako. A green humanoid cyclops wielding a club appeared on the playing field. "This is a virtual simulation box made just for duels!" Kaiba finished.

_Mheh heh... I've recreated my game with Yugi using virtual reality monsters!_ Kaiba thought. _My money can buy powers just like hers!_

"You'll give me a heart attack with these graphics," said Sugako. "It's my turn now." She set a monster on the field, then equipped it with a spell card that raised its attack points to 1700. "I attack! You lose 500 life points, Kaiba," she said.

Kaiba drew a card and set a monster with 2000 attack points on the field, and attacked Sugako's 1700-attack-point monster on the field. "And you lose 300 life points, old woman. Now I'm ahead."

"I'm not out yet," said Sugako. _Ho ho,_ she thought. _This young woman is pretty good... Even if she doesn't know how to use spell cards properly._ She drew a card. "It's over, Kaiba," said Sugako. "I've drawn the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! When I put this card down, it's game over!"

Kaiba was surprised, though she kept her expression neutral. That old woman had the sense to put her most powerful card in her deck? The way she went on about how the memories she had attached to that card was what made it valuable, you'd think she wouldn't use it. She had to give her credit.

"Then I choose to play _this_ card!" said Kaiba. Sugako was shocked. Another Blue-Eyes! The next two turns, Kaiba played two additional Blue-Eyes cards. _If she already has three Blue-Eyes cards, why did she demand mine?_ Sugako wondered. Three copies of a card was the limit for each deck. What was that young woman's problem?

With the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, Kaiba easily defeated Sugako.

_Grandma lost!_ Yugi thought, shocked.

_This young woman,_ thought Sugako. _How did she get her hands on these ultra rare cards...?_

As though Kaiba had read her mind, she explained: "Only four copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon are known to exist. One in America, one in Germany, one in Hong Kong... And you, old woman! Of course, none of them agreed when I told them to hand it over, so I used a bit of force... I used my wealth to force them to bankruptcy, or I made deals with the mafia. One of them even committed suicide!"

_What a terrible young woman!_ thought Sugako.

"This is your punishment for losing to me! And to your card for betraying me last time!" Kaiba proclaimed, tearing Sugako's Blue-Eyes in half, so no one could use Blue-Eyes against her. She grinned maniacally, then laughed. "Now I'm the only one with this card in the entire world!" Kaiba yelled. "And now, old woman, I'll give you a penalty game!" Suddenly, all the monsters that had been played that duel appeared. Kaiba let out an even more maniacal laugh. "You'll experience death by virtual reality!"

Sugako screamed. She felt pressure in her chest. Her upper back felt like it was burning. Her breath grew short and frequent.

"Grandma!" Yugi yelled. Her grandmother was having a heart attack! She had to get her out of there! Kaiba walked out of the cube. "Kaiba! Let my grandma out of the box!" Yugi yelled, angry. Kaiba, that prick, had the audacity to chuckle. "We've done human experiments in that simulator. We discovered that the average person goes insane in about 10 minutes. If we don't stop it soon, your grandmother will be _destroyed..._ "

Yugi's eyes widened, cold sweat on her face.

"I have one condition for stopping the simulator!" said Kaiba, with an evil, sadistic grin on her face. "You must swear to face the hidden attraction of Kaiba Land, Death-T! The theme park I built to exact my revenge on you!"

Good thing Jounouchi came with Yugi to Kaiba's mansion yesterday. She was going to need all the help she could get surviving this!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Tumblr post actually had some influence on this chapter. The poster had discussed a headcanon that they had, namely that Kaiba has hallucinations regularly due to insomnia, and I thought it was interesting. It also fits with the Virtual World arc, which I am including in this fic.  
> I also had to look up heart attack symptoms for this chapter. This is how I learned women often have different heart attack symptoms from men.


	15. Death-T Battlefront

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda have entered Death-T. But the first game is more dangerous than any of them expected...

"Stop the simulator!" Kaiba ordered a security guard.

Sugako gasped and wheezed as the monsters faded to nothing. Thank God they disappeared when they did. She was about to have a heart attack!

"Grandma!" Yugi shouted, running up to her. "Are you all right?!"

After several more gasps, Sugako said, "Y-Yugi... I'm sorry... I lost..."

Yugi's eyes welled up. Her grandma almost died!

"She... she's a terrible young woman..." Sugako said. "She'll do anything to win a game... Even... taking a person's life..."

"Grandma! Don't talk!" Yugi begged tearfully. She did not want her grandmother to risk her life. She had barely been able to prevent her from having a heart attack. She wanted her to catch her breath.

"Yugi..." Sugako said, ignoring her granddaughter's plea for a moment. This was vital information. Afterwards, she would catch her breath. "Th-these are the cards I used in my duel. I lost, but to me, these cards are my soul... Take them... I know you can defeat that young woman!"

_I got it, Grandma!_ she thought. Out loud, she said, "I'll beat her!" _I'll defeat Kaiba with the cards of Grandma's soul!_

Jounouchi ran up to Yugi. "Yugi! I called the ambulance! Quick, get your grandma!"

The ambulance arrived within a few minutes. As Grandma was being carried off on a stretcher, Yugi thought, _I'm sorry, Grandma... I can't go with you..._ She clutched Grandma's deck. Somehow, holding it gave her a sense of comfort, almost like holding her hand. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Kaiba's cruel, mocking laughter.

"Yugi! I see you holding your loser grandmother's cards. You think you can defeat me with those?"

"I promised my grandma! I'll beat you with these cards!" Yugi said, defiance clear in her tone.

"Oh, you _will,_ will you?" Kaiba said. "I have three of the most powerful cards on Earth, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now you don't even have _one_ Blue-Eyes in your deck!"

_I_ know _you tore up Grandma's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, you coward!_ thought Yugi. _The card she loved the most... The card of Grandma's heart!_

Kaiba chuckled menacingly. "Don't worry!" she said. "A rematch with you is what I've wanted from the beginning." _Mheh heh... And this time, the probability of my winning is over 99%..._ she added in her head. "The stage for our duel will be the dome at the top of this building! We're on the second floor now. Each deadly game you clear brings you closer to the top! But you will never conquer Death-T!"

"Kaiba!" said Jounouchi, "Count me in too! I'm not letting Yugi go alone!"

"Jounouchi!" exclaimed Yugi. She was grateful for this. Two heads were better than one, after all.

Kaiba chuckled. _Moron... You'll regret that foolish friendship when you experience Death-T..._

"Listen Kaiba!" Jounouchi said, angry. "I could plant my fist in your pasty face right here! But it'd be pointless! Yugi will beat you at your card game! And I'll stake my life to help her get there!"

Kaiba chuckled once more. Yugi could never get to the top of Death-T to defeat her, especially not with that idiot Jounouchi holding her back. She wondered who was the bigger fool here, the fool or the fool who followed her.

"Don't forget about me!" said a voice. Yugi and Jounouchi turned around, while Kaiba looked past the other two. "Yugi! Jounouchi!" that same voice said.

"Honda!" Jounouchi said, surprised. What was she doing here? Oh well, it didn't matter. If two heads were better than one, then surely three heads were better than two.

Honda chuckled at Yugi and Jounouchi's surprised faces. She had been nearby when Yugi and Jounouchi entered the vehicle, and had overheard the conversation they had with the man who invited them into the vehicle. The next day, she was out walking her dog when she passed a mansion, and saw Yugi, Jounouchi, and Kaiba in a limousine, and decided to follow, suspicious of the situation.

"Good thing I was here – you look like you need a hand! Count me in, Yugi! You're not going in there without me!"

_Honda, you're so..._ Yugi thought. smiling. _Honda... Jounouchi... You're doing all this for me... Thanks, guys..._

Kaiba let out a "hmph" at the sudden reunion. Not only was this plan going to be complicated by the introduction of not one, but two unexpected factors, but this conversation was getting _so freaking mushy!_ She never did understand why people acted like they were so attached to each other when they were going to inevitably betray each other.

Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda all turned to Kaiba. "So let's start the game already!" said Jounouchi.

_Mheh heh heh... Fine then,_ thought Kaiba. _I'll bury you all in the same grave!_ Out loud, she said, "Open the gate of Death-T!" to some security guards. The heavy metal doors slowly moved apart.

_What horrible things are waiting for me behind those doors?_ Yugi wondered.

"Step through the gate, Yugi!" said Kaiba, impatient to have Yugi and her so-called "friends" dead. "We're all waiting for you!"

The crowd was excited, wondering what lay on the other side of the gate, oblivious to Kaiba's true plans.

Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda stepped through the gate. As it closed behind them, Kaiba said, "Yugi! I'll be waiting for you at the top!"

The three of them walked through the hall. They were silent for several long minutes, before Jounouchi finally spoke up. "Hey... This feels creepy... And it's dark..."

"You're not _scared,_ are you Jounouchi?" Honda asked, clearly having none of it.

Several minutes of silence later, Honda asked, "How far does this damn tunnel go?"

"Where's the stupid game?!" Jounouchi complained.

Eventually, the three came to a stop, surprised at the sight in front of them. It was a metal gate, not unlike the one they had entered the hallway through, except for the fact that it was labelled, "Death T-1."

"Is this the first game?" asked Honda.

Suddenly, the doors slid open, much faster than the first door. Behind the door was another hallway. Suddenly, they heard, over some loudspeaker system, a robotic voice saying, "Emergency!" over and over again, startling them.

"What's going on?!" Yugi yelped.

"Please help me!" said a familiar voice. Suddenly, all three girls' eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

"Ansei?!" Jounouchi yelled. Ansei Mazaki was wearing what appeared to be a costume made to resemble high-tech armor.

"Whaa?!" Ansei yelled back, equally shocked to see his three friends at Death-T, of all places. "What are _you_ doing here?!" he asked.

"That's _my_ line!" Jounouchi said.

"I started working at this amusement park today!" explained Ansei. "I lost my job at Burger World when they found out I was a high school student! So I applied at Kaiba Land! They put me in this costume and made me the guide for this game. You all surprised me!"

"So, why did you yell, 'Help'?" asked Jounouchi.

"It's an act! Part of this game!" said Ansei. "After I say that, I say this line to the customers: 'The enemy is about to blow up this space station! You are the only ones who can save it! Put on your cyber-vests and defeat the intruders with your laser guns!"

"Ansei, how can you act like _that_ at a time like _this?!_ " asked Jounouchi.

"I practiced hard!" said Ansei. "My acting isn't _that_ bad!"

" _Sheesh,_ are you stupid?" asked Jounouchi. "Do you have _any idea_ what this theme park is about?! I guess you're better off not knowing..." Ansei merely looked at Jounouchi in confusion. What was she going on about?

"Anyway," said Honda, "the first game looks like a shootout!"

"There are the cyber-vests and lasers!" said Yugi.

"All right, everyone!" said Ansei. "Time to get dressed!" The girls promptly put the vests on and grabbed a laser gun each.

"Yep!" said Ansei. "Looking good!" Yugi still felt embarassed, because these vests were obviously designed for kids, which didn't help the fact that somehow, at fifteen years old, she still looked like a ten-year-old. Neither Honda nor Jounouchi looked all that pleased either. The vests somehow fit, but the guns still looked childish.

"Okay!" said Ansei. "The game is a shooting match, three against three! The battle takes place in the electrical field behind that door!" Pointing to the left side of his own cyber-vest, he said, "There's a sensor on the front of these cyber-vests! Aim for this spot!" Moving his hand back to his side, he said, "If the enemy's laser hits your sensor, you'll feel a light vibration over your whole body. If you get hit even once, you're out of the game. The first team to lose all its members loses. Then, it's game over!"

_This game can't be so simple... Kaiba must be planning some trap,_ thought Yugi. _But what could it be?_

"Awright!" said Jounouchi. "Let's go!"

"Good luck!" said Ansei.

Meanwhile, in a secret surveillance room under Death-T, Kaiba turned to the security guard who had accompanied her there, yelling, "Who hired that boy?! He's one of their friends!"

"My apologies, ma'am," said the guard. Kaiba was composed most of the time, but if something set her off, she would yell at the nearest person.

"Ah, well," said Kaiba, regaining her composure as quickly as she had lost her temper. It didn't matter. They were all idiots anyway. Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda couldn't possibly survive Death-T, and that boy... What was his name? Ah, yes, Mazaki... Mazaki couldn't do a thing. Not unless he wanted to get fired, anyway.

"Death-T-1, Stardust Shoot-Out! They've entered the electrical field!" Kaiba said.

"Yes, sir! We have prepared a special team to face the three of them! Each one is a pro in her field!" The team consisted of three infamous soldiers: Jane Gale, an American former Green Beret commander who specializes in guerrilla warfare, Beth McGuire, an American former SWAT team leader and long-distance sniper, and an assassin whose name was unknown, who had been designated "Jane Wick". Jane Wick was the world's best assassin.

Kaiba chuckled. "It's over already, Yugi. The guns I've given you are mere toys... But if the lasers that these three hold hit the sensor on your cyber-vest, you'll get shocked with a million volts! I'll be watching you play this death game, Yugi... and nothing will give me more pleasure!"

Meanwhile, on the exit side of the Death T-1 room that Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda had entered, the hired team spoke to each other.

Jane Gale, a blond woman with a large nose, chuckled. "Sure was nice of Kaiba to put a bounty on their heads!" Why a bounty on the heads of three teenagers was necessary, Gale didn't understand, but easy money was easy money. She wasn't going to turn _that_ down.

"$10,000 each!" exclaimed Beth McGuire, a bald woman with no eyebrows. "Piece of cake!"

Jane Wick, a dark-haired woman with a buzz cut and thick eyebrows, snorted. "Of course, I'll finish all three on my own..."

Wick chuckled. "I'm gonna enjoy this game!" said Gale. McGuire was silent.

Meanwhile, on the entry side of the Death T-1 room, Jounouchi exclaimed, "Awright! Let's do it!" to Yugi and Honda.

The room itself had a floor made of glowing tiles, with two sets of six walls arranged symmetrically in the room. Each set was arranged in a vague trapezoid shape, with the exception of a wall in the center of each set, with the line of symmetry of the room being midway between the entrance and exit. A robotic voice announced, "Game start!"

Suddenly, the tiles changed. The tiles went dark, with a picture of a woman showing on them, and text reading, "Kaiba Information." The same robotic voice announced, "Welcome to Kaiba Information!" The tiles then changed to show Kaiba's face. She said, "Hello again, Yugi! Welcome to Death T-1, the first game of the theme park! The three enemies you are about to face are mercenaries I've hired especially for this game! If you're lucky, you'll die in a blaze of glory like a shooting star across the sky!"

"Listen up, bowl head!" Jounouchi yelled. "Your games suck! We're going to make it to the top!"

_And I'll challenge you again with Grandma's cards!_ Yugi added in her head.

Kaiba merely chuckled. "Enjoy your last game!" was all Kaiba said before the tiles reverted to the white glow they had before.

"Awright! Concentrate, everyone!" said Jounouchi.

"Kaiba will do _anything_ to win!" said Yugi. "The enemy will be tough!"

"Don't worry," said Honda. "I'm an ace with model guns! When I was a little kid, I could hit a 100-yen piece with a BB gun at 50 feet!"

_That was when you were a little kid,_ thought Jounouchi.

The three of them went to the wall to their right, crouched down behind it to use it for cover.

"How should we deal with those kids?!" asked Wick impatiently.

"I'm the expert at guerilla warfare! Leave it to me!" said Gale. "I'll pull a surprise attack and finish them in an instant!" Turning towards the other side of the room, Gale said, "They're amateurs. They'll be scared stiff when I jump right out in front of them. A game like this is nothing to someone with _real_ combat experience!" She then dropped to the floor and rolled behind the wall to her right. This was going to be easy. What harm could teenagers do to a veteran?

"Shoot..." said McGuire. "Show-off wants the bounty all to herself!" Gale merely chuckled.

"What are we waiting around her for?" Jounouchi whisper-shouted.

"Idiot!" Honda whisper-shouted back. "Stay still! Let _them_ make the first move!"

Jounouchi sulked.

"In tight quarters like these, you only move forward when you secure a good position! That's a sure survival technique!" Honda whispered.

"I agree with Honda's plan," Yugi whispered. "If we stay here, the enemy will come to us!" That was a better move than just blindly attacking.

"No way!" whispered Jounouchi. "I can't stand sneaking around! A tough person faces  
their enemy head-on!"

Several agonizing minutes later, Jounouchi had had enough. She jumped on top of the cover.

"Ack!" Honda whisper-shouted.

"Jounouchi!" Yugi whisper-shouted.

_Yeah,_ thought Jounouchi. _Now I've got room to fight!_ Jumping from cover to cover, Jounouchi thought, _Here I come!_

_Jounouchi?!_ Yugi thought, eyes widened in panic.

_That moron!_ Honda thought, annoyed. She always knew that Jounouchi could be impulsive, but she didn't expect her to be _this_ impulsive. It was one thing when it was fellow delinquents her age, since she was usually tougher than them and they went into hand-to-hand combat, Jounouchi's specialty. But this was a gunfight, against much older, much more experienced fighters, who had been using guns since before Jounouchi was even born.

Gale was still crouched down behind cover when she heard thumping. When she looked up, she found a teenage girl with short, dirty-blonde hair wearing a girls' high school uniform standing on top of the wall she was using for cover.

"Found one!" the girl yelled.

_What?!_ Gale thought, eyes widened. _She thought up an attack even more surprising than mine!_ Calming down, she thought, _But I'm the one with weapons training! I can draw a bead first!_ "Die!" Gale yelled out loud.

But before she could pull the trigger, Jounouchi kicked her in the face.

"She did it!" exclaimed Yugi.

"...That idiot... she got one of them..." said Honda, shocked.

On the other side of the room, McGuire said, "No way! They got Gale!" Wick was shocked into silence.

After recovering from the shock, Wick said, "Get them!" as she and McGuire pointed their guns in front of them. They began firing.

"Ack!" yelled Jounouchi, running away from the source of the firing.

"All right!" said Honda. "They've shown themselves!" Honda decided to take advantage of the fact that their remaining opponents were focused on Jounouchi to shoot at them herself. She aimed carefully, and shot precisely in the center of the bald one's sensor, dead on.

Except... nothing was happening?

_Huh?!_ thought Honda. _That's weird..._

Yugi had made her way to Jounouchi. "Jounouchi, are you okay?" she asked.

"No problemo!" said Jounouchi.

"I'll help too!" said Yugi, taking aim at one of the opponents.

Honda let out a "Ggkk!" sound as a laser barely scratched at the shoulder pad of her cyber-vest. "Ow..." she said. _Wh-what the?! I got shocked!_ This wasn't right. Ansei said there would be a _vibration,_ not a _shock!_

_Man, this is bad!_ Jounouchi thought. _If they come any closer, I won't be able to keep covering the sensor on my chest!_

Jounouchi swore as a laser barely missed.

Yugi let out a yell of frustration. "I keep missing!"

"Yugi! Jounouchi!" Honda yelled. "We have to pull back! There's something wrong with this game!"

Ansei looked at the screen. He was hopeful about his friends' chances of winning. After all, they had taken down one of their opponents. Suddenly, he saw them entering through the door.

"Hey Honda!" Jounouchi yelled irritably. "Why are we running away?! It's not cool to show your back to the enemy!"

"You guys can't leave in the middle of the game!" Ansei admonished.

"What's wrong, Honda?" asked Yugi.

"Yugi, this game is rigged!" said Honda.

"What?" Yugi asked.

"Our guns are useless!" Honda said. "There's no way we can win! What a lousy trick... And it's all because of Kaiba! That little..." Suddenly, Honda got an idea. "Ansei, hand me that gun!" She then shot at one of the spare vests. Suddenly, there was a loud "Fzzt!" as electricity came out of the vest. "What the... there was an electric shock when the laser hit the sensor on that vest!"

_If that had been one of us..._ thought Yugi.

"So that's it!" Honda said. "Those mercenaries have real laser guns! They've got _lethal_ weapons!"

"Kaiba didn't know Ansei was our friend when she hired him and gave him that gun!"

"That's it!" Ansei yelled. "I quit!"

_Curse you, Kaiba!_ thought Yugi. _Is this cowardly killing game part of your theme park of death?_

"But now we have at least one gun we can face them with!" said Honda. "Kaiba didn't predict this!"

"There are two enemies left, but they're both pros," said Yugi. "What can we do with one gun?"

"I'll do another surprise attack!" said Jounouchi.

"Idiot!" Honda scolded. "That trick won't work again!" Suddenly having an idea, she said, "Leave this to me!" She was the best shot of the group. She was the one best suited to this plan of hers. She walked through the door again, a determined look on her face.

"Hmph!" said Wick. "One of the kids came back! Are you going to keep playing?"

McGuire chuckled. "That's real good, 'cause it's two against one! You don't stand a chance on your own!"

Silently, Honda dropped her laser gun, raising her arms up as if in surrender.

"Eh?" Wick said, confused. After a few silent moments, Wick laughed.

"So you chickened out?!" McGuire asked mockingly. "You gonna surrender?!"

"But I'm afraid it's no use," said Wick.

"Yeah," said McGuire. "What she means is, ol' Kaiba told us to kill you! So say your prayers!" She chuckled. "It's execution time!"

Wick laughed again. "Die!" she yelled.

But Honda did what the dark-haired assassin evidently did not expect. Honda reached behind her back to take out a second gun, the lethal one, and shot the bald opponent. McGuire was electrocuted, and, because of her close proximity, so did Wick.

"Haven't you watched any Westerns?" asked Honda. "The hero is always the one who says the least! Oh, and don't worry. I turned the voltage down. You won't die!" She was admittedly proud of herself for that victory. She always wanted to just stand there silently as someone went on their little rant about how they were for sure going to win, only to kick their butt right after.

"She did it!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "Awright, let's get out of here!" The four of them promptly left the room.

Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Kaiba was watching. _Well,_ she thought. _So you've cleared Death T-1... But how will you fare in the next stage, Yugi?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut a character, Johji, from the story entirely. Why? Most of his character revolved around being a sleaze to Anzu. Despite being _a baby._ Gross. There was no real way to change this aspect without basically having a different character altogether.
> 
> Also, he had dialogue, despite being, you know, _a baby._ Not even old enough to walk, yet somehow old enough to speak full, coherent sentences. I don't know much about babies, but I do know they generally don't speak as coherently as he does before being able to walk around. At which point, they're toddlers.


	16. Little Train Ride of Horrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends have survived Death T-1, but can they survive a roller coaster that electrocutes anyone who screams?

"Yeah!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "We are the champions, my friends!" she sang.

"Enough, Jounouchi," said Honda. "Your singing is terrible."

"Ha!" said Jounouchi. "You're just jealous 'cause I sing better than _you_ do! Anyway, bring on Stage 2! We cleared that shooting game without a problem! Right Yugi?"

"I guess," said Yugi, "but I still feel nervous! We could've died back there! And I'm sure Kaiba's next game will be even _more_ dangerous!"

"Yugi's right," said Honda. "Don't let your guard down! The next game's at the end of this tunnel!"

"No matter what it is, we can beat it!" Jounouchi said confidently.

Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Kaiba watched them with a smirk. _Mheh heh... the fools!_ she thought. _Acting so proud because they cleared Death T-1! They have no idea how hard the next game is... But they're starting to look like a worthy enemy. I spent a lot to build this theme park for Yugi..._

A security guard said, "Yugi and her friends are leaving the Space Zone, Death T-1. Estimated time of arrival in Zone 2: Five seconds."

_Mm hmm..._ Kaiba thought. _I wonder... how will they do in Death T-2, the Horror Zone?_

"Is this it...?" asked Jounouchi, when they arrived in a damp, mossy tunnel, with a rotted wooden sign above them. "Death T-2?" She looked very scared. _Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be Judgement Day for us..._ she thought.

"What's with the change in scenery?" asked Ansei.

"Yeah," said Honda. "It sends a chill down your spine!" After a brief pause, Honda said, "Anyway, let's keep moving!"

"Ansei!" Jounouchi said. "You go first!"

"What happened to all that courage you just had?" Ansei asked.

"I... uh..." Jounouchi stammered. "I just hate this sort of thing, alright?"

"Welcome to the Horror Zone," a creepy voice said.

Jounouchi let out a yell of surprise. When she turned around, she saw a decrepit old woman in a black robe. She cackled. Jounouchi screamed.

"Well, well..." said the old woman. "If this is what scares you, you won't survive the next ride..." she said ominously, following up with some more cackling.

"I w-wasn't scared, jerk!" Jounouchi protested. "You just startled me!" Not that anyone believed her.

"I will be your guide for the next attraction..." said the old woman. "Please follow me..."

"Hey, she's the maid from Kaiba's mansion!" said Yugi.

"Whoa, you're right!" said Jounouchi.

"Ahem," the old woman said. "Now, step right this way, everyone..."

The group headed to something strange.

"What's this weird car?!" asked Jounouchi. It looked like somebody had attached a metal slab to two sets of wheels and axels and put chairs on top.

"This is the car which will take us to our next destination! I trust you'll enjoy the ride!" said the old woman.

"Where are you taking us?!" asked Yugi.

"You'll find out if you get on..." said the old woman.

"We don't have a choice," said Honda. "We have to ride this to move on!"

Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda stepped onto the car and each took a seat.

"Is everyone seated?" asked the old woman, who had stepped on herself. She cackled as she pressed a button. Suddenly, everyone's wrists were shackled to their armrests, and something went down onto their heads.

"Hey you!" Jounouchi shouted. "What are you planning to do with us?!"

The old woman cackled once more. "This is the beginning of our game of death... first, let me tell you where this ride leads... it leads to the murderer's mansion... only in a theme park of death can an attraction of such refined terror be possible! Now, on the way to the murderer's mansion, you will enjoy this mini-game, the electric chair ride. However, if you're unlucky, you might end your life in this minigame..." She cackled again.

"The electric chair ride?!" Jounouchi yelled.

"Let me explain the rules of this game..." said the old woman, ignoring Jounouchi's question. "As you've guessed, the chairs you are siting in are electric chairs... Those are certified working electric chairs. They have sent many criminals to the next world!" The car started moving. "Soon we will enter the darkness of the electric chair ride... During this ride, no matter what you encounter, you mustn't make a sound! If you do... this sensor will pick up a human voice... and run ten million volts of electricity through the chair that the person is sitting in."

"Wh-what?!" said Jounouchi.

_The electric chair of death?!_ thought Yugi. _Kaiba! How can you build such a terrible ride?!_

Yugi turned to Ansei, a sorrowful expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Ansei. It's my fault. I got you into this..."

"Yugi..." said Ansei. "It's not your fault. You didn't build this. Kaiba did."

"As the guide, I will participate in this game as well!" said the old woman. "To make things fair, I am bound by the same rules. If I make a sound, the electricity will flow! Now, have you prepared yourselves?" She didn't wait for anyone to answer before announcing, "Game start!" and starting the car.

_Ho ho ho..._ thought Dai. _I'm not only Kaiba's maid, I'm also an expert in all forms of torture... I know the best ways to make my prisoners writhe in pain... there are so many ways to make a victim raise their voice... and a good torturer knows how to keep silent no matter what happens to them. And I designed this game! It doesn't scare me! Heh heh heh... In other words, this game is mine... I'll destroy you four in this round! Ho ho ho..._

The five heard nothing but the clattering of the wheels on the tracks. It was so dark they could barely see five feet in front of them.

Jounouchi was the most scared. Her eyes were extremely wide, jaw aching from her teeth clenching, fingertips, if she could see them, white from gripping the armrests so tightly. Her face was covered in cold sweat. She could barely keep herself silent.

Not that the others weren't scared. They were all sweating. Yugi looked around in vain, hoping to have at least some idea of what was ahead of them. Ansei winced, because he could barely hear Jounouchi making the slightest of sounds. He seriously hoped she didn't scream. She was probably the most likely to do so. Honda merely stared ahead, brows furrowed in determination. If Jounouchi screamed...

Dai smiled to herself. _Ho ho ho..._ she thought. _Now witness the first terror..._

Suddenly, there was light. A partially-unwrapped mummy jumped out in front of them from their right, horrifically-elongated tongue sticking out of its mouth. To their left was some mishmash of twisted faces.

Yugi could feel her heart jump up into her throat. Her eyes widened. She had to clench her teeth to keep from screaming.

The tiny noises eminating from Jounouchi's mouth increased in volume by the tiniest amount. Thankfully not enough that she was electrocuted, but still too close for comfort.

_Ho ho ho..._ thought Dai. _Cry out in fear! Scream in terror!_

The car continued moving. It moved through an open field full of gravestones.

Ansei squeezed his eyes shut. His sweat lessened, but it was still present.

Yugi, conversely, grew sweatier. She looked straight ahead, prepared to face whatever was thrown their way.

Honda's face had contorted to a grimace. Jounouchi was getting dangerously close to being electrocuted. If Jounouchi screamed, who else was going to scream? Honda didn't want to think about it.

_Impressive,_ thought Dai. _So this level of terror won't make you scream. Then how about this..._ She flipped over a hidden control panel and pressed a button.

Jounouchi could feel air blowing on her face. Her jaw dropped, but thankfully no sound came out. She could feel the blood draining from her face. _So these chairs can do more than just electrocution..._ she thought.

Dai pressed another button on the control panel.

Hidden doors flipped open on Yugi, Honda, and Ansei's chairs. Hands sprung out from the openings.

The hands on Honda's chair touched her face. She clenched her teeth to the point that her jaw ached, brows furrowing from concentrating on keeping her mouth shut. She would not scream.

The hands on Ansei's chair touched his shoulders. He gulped. He kept his teeth clenched. If he could just do that, he wouldn't be electrocuted.

The hands on Yugi's chair hovered by her face. _Urk..._ she thought. She, too, was clenching her jaw. For once, she was grateful for being so short. She didn't know what she would do if the hands could actually touch her...

Dai pushed a couple more buttons.

The hands on Ansei's chair retracted, but in their place air began to blow on his face. He began to clench his teeth. _Augh..._ he thought.

Eventually, the car came to a stop. Dai switched off the chairs.

Honda let out a sigh of relief. "We can talk now!" she said. "Yugi! Ansei! Are you all right?"

"Yup!" said Yugi.

"Yes!" said Ansei.

"Jounouchi?" asked Honda.

Jounouchi was passed out in her seat.

"She fainted!" Honda exclaimed. "Well, I guess that's what saved her."

Jounouchi awoke with a "Uggh."

"Well, well," said the old woman. The four turned to her. "Since you did so well, I'll let you pass. I am a person of my word, after all. Go ahead." _Ho ho ho..._ she thought. _I may not have killed them, but the next game surely will!_

The four went into the mansion, a tall, decrepit old building that clearly had seen better days.

_Mheh heh..._ thought Kaiba from the surveillance room. _Welcome to Death T-2, the murderer's mansion..._ She smirked. These were possibly some worthy opponents... if they could survive the mansion, that is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original manga, Daimon died at the end. This was because of Johji, who I cut from the fic. I couldn't think of a reasonable way for Dai to die at the end, so I instead gave her a bit more characterization by letting Yugi and her friends go forth to the next section [out of a sense of honor](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NobleDemon).


	17. The Murderer from Camp Domino Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends have found themselves in a mansion said to belong to the Chopman. When they are at risk of having their hands chopped off, can Yugi solve the puzzle to stop the guillotine?

Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda were in front of a decrepit old mansion.

"This is the murderer's mansion?!" asked Jounouchi. "Yech! Creepy!"

_This is the next game! Kaiba... What kind of traps have you set for us here?!_ Yugi thought. All of a sudden, she felt a "Badum!" from her pocket. It continued several more times. _What's this?!_ thought Yugi. _Something's vibrating in my pocket!_ She took the item out of her pocket. It was her grandmother's deck of cards. She now felt the vibration in her hand. _Grandma..._ It was practically her heartbeat!

"What's up, Yugi?" asked Jounouchi.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ansei.

"I get the feeling that Grandma's in critical condition…" said Yugi.

"Wh-what do you mean?!" asked Jounouchi.

_Wait for me, Grandma!_ thought Yugi.

"C'mon!" said Jounouchi impatiently. "We can't wait around here! Hurry! Let's go!"

"If what Yugi says is true," said Honda, "we have to clear this game as fast as we can!"

The four hurried into the mansion, Honda kicking down the door. They took a few steps in.

"Ugh!" Honda complained. "It's so musty in here. It sticks in your throat."

"It's too dark to see..." said Yugi. "We should stay until our eyes adjust."

The doors slammed shut behind them.

"Hey!" Ansei said, tugging vainly on the knobs. "I can't get it open!"

"You mean we're _trapped?!_ " Jounouchi asked. She tried to open the door herself. It remained stubbornly shut. "Does anyone have a wire or something?" Jounouchi asked. The answer was probably no, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"We have to find the exit in order to move on," said Honda.

"Let's split up and look for the way out!" suggested Yugi.

The four wandered around the house. Yugi walked through a section that had a suit of armor in it. She looked up to find a sign that had the word "blood" on it... Except spelled with two l's? She took it off the armor. _What on Earth could it mean?_ she thought. _That's a bad omen._

Yugi returned to the foyer.

"Hey, this is strange!" said Jounouchi. "There's no way out!"

"I'll check the second floor!" said Honda. She then ascended the stairs. "Huh? What the – The stairs are blocked off! There _isn't_ a second floor!"

Suddenly, above the center point of the foyer, there was some kind of projection of Kaiba. The projection chuckled.

"Kaiba!" Yugi and Jounouchi yelled at the same time.

"Welcome to the murderer's mansion!" said Kaiba.

"She's floating in thin air!" Jounouchi yelled.

"It's not really her!" Yugi corrected. "It's a hologram!"

"I see you're searching for the exit to this mansion. Have you found it yet?" said Kaiba, ignoring what Yugi and Jounouchi said. "Let me give you a word of warning. If you don't escape soon, something terrible will happen!"

Honda and Yugi looked up at the projection in shock.

"Let me explain why I call this the murderer's mansion..." said Kaiba. "Do you remember whast happened last summer at the camp near Domino Lake? Those terrible murders that had all of Domino City cowering in fear... ten Boy Scouts staying at the camp were murdered... all in one night... not even a master of puzzles would have been able to assemble those body parts back into a human form... those boys were mincemeat. After that, he became known as "the Chopman"... he is still at large..."

The four gulped.

The projection chuckled. "You've figured it out, haven't you... The Chopman is hidden in this mansion! Cruelty is considered an asset at Kaiba Corporation... we scouted him to manage this attraction in the theme park of death! So! Will you be able to escape this mansion without running into him?"

Yugi let out a "Ggk..."

"However," the projection continued, "I couldn't have you call this game unfair, so I'll give you a hint to find the way out of the mansion! Look at the wall behind you." The four did as instructed.

"What the?!" Yugi said. "Four holes in the wall!"

"There are numbers written above each of the holes! 00, 01, 10, 11! There are switches on the other side of that wall. If you press the right switch, the location of the exit will be revealed! Now, gather your courage and put your hands in these holes!"

_This is a trap!_ thought Yugi. _There has to be some kind of trick!_

"What is it, Yugi?" asked the projection. "You look suspicious of all this. You'll never get out unless you press the right switch!"

The four walked up to the wall. Jounouchi, Honda, Yugi, and Ansei put their hands in the 00, 01, 10, and 11 holes respectively. Suddenly, they all felt pressure on their wrists and heard a "Kachank!"

"Wha?!" asked Jounouchi. "Our hands are trapped!" The four looked up. They saw a giant guillotine above the numbers.

The projection laughed. "Now the game begins! Only one of the switches is the real one! If you press the wrong switch, the blade will fall and cut off your hands! You have five minutes before the blade drops! Don't forget! You can only press one switch!"

"Kaiba, you – " Yugi said.

The projection chuckled. "I've left a hint hidden in this room... I wish you luck!" The projection disappeared.

"This is impossible!" said Jounouchi. "Which is the right switch? I can't stand this! What's with all these games?"

"The numbers must mean something!" said Yugi. She went over the numbers out loud.

"They're all ones and zeroes," said Ansei. "That's like... what's it called... That computer code..."

"Argh, I don't get it!" Jounouchi yelled in frustration. "That friggin' Kaiba said there was a hint somewhere in this room..."

"Ah!" Yugi said, coming to a realization. "That scrap of paper!" She pulled it out of her blazer pocket. "Blood..." she read out loud.

Honda took the paper. "What's this? Those letters are creepy..."

"I found that scrap of paper in this room," Yugi explained.

"That has to be it!" said Ansei.

Honda swore. "I don't get it. Numbers and letters... I hate this kind of puzzle!"

"Yugi can solve it!" said Ansei. "You solved the Millenium Puzzle! You can do it!"

"Okay..." said Yugi, apprehensive. She took the paper back. She realized something. _That's got to be it! The word's misspelled! That must be a clue! It's supposed to be "blood"... But there's two l's!_

"Hey, we only have two minutes left!" Honda yelled.

Yugi stared silently at the paper.

"C'mon Yugi! About one minute left!" said Jounouchi.

_It's no good..._ thought Yugi. _I don't get it... Why did you do it, Kaiba...?_

"Yugi! There's no more time!" yelled Honda.

_I have to save everyone!_ thought Yugi.

"Time is up!" Jounouchi yelled in a panic. "The guillotine blade!"

"I got it!" Yugi yelled. "It's Ansei's! Push your switch, Ansei!"

Ansei did so. The guillotine came to an agonizingly slow stop, but everyone's hands were intact.

"The blade stopped!" Yugi yelled excitedly. "I was right!"

The cuffs around their wrists opened, allowing everyone to remove their hands from the holes.

"You did it!" Honda exclaimed.

"Awright! Go Yugi!" said Jounouchi, relieved.

Yugi let out a sigh of relief.

"How did you get the answer?" Ansei asked.

"At first, I kept thinking about the meaning of the word blood! But the shape of the letteres was what mattered! See, they made the word blood with just zeroes and ones! And when you look closely at the second L in the word, there's an arrow pointing down! That must mean that the exit is in the basement! So the right answer was the 11 that the arrow is drawn on! Ansei's switch!"

"Good work, Yugi!" said Ansei. "You were right, there's an exit in the floor!"

"Awright, now we can get outta here!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

Now the four were on their way out of the mansion... If there were no other complications, that is...


	18. The Domino City (Attempted) Chainsaw Massacre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends have solved the puzzle in the mansion, but can they survive the killer in the basement?

"Let's go!" said Jounouchi. The four went down into the trap door labelled, "Exit". They descended a flight of stairs.

"Be careful, everyone!" said Yugi. "Kaiba said the murderer was on her side! This could be a trap!"

They went through the damp, humid, musty hallway, up to the entryway to a chamber. A chamber with a tall, muscular man, with a mask made of pieces of leather stitched together. He was holding an electronic tablet of some sort.

Suddenly, they saw Kaiba's face on the tablet.

"What do you think, everyone?" Kaiba asked mockingly. "Are you enjoying Kaiba Land's games of death?"

"Kaiba!" yelled Jounouchi. "I don't know where you're hiding, but if you have any guts, come out and talk to us in person!"

Kaiba merely chuckled. "Of all games, I like card games the besst, but chess is my second favorite..." Jounouchi had no idea why Kaiba was going off-topic like this. But Kaiba continued talking. "Right now, you are living chess pieces on the giant board that is Kaiba Land! I watch as each move brings me closer to checkmate... And I'm enjoying it immensely. Now, about the next game... You will play it in here with the chopman! Select one person to enter this room!"

Yugi gulped. _A game with the chopman?!_

"You can't avoid this game!" said Kaiba. "You don't want to see your grandmother _die,_ do you, Yugi?"

"Kaiba, don't you dare!" yelled Yugi.

"Who will step up to play this game?" asked Kaiba, ignoring Yugi.

Honda swore. "I'll – "

"Wait, Honda!" said Jounouchi. "Let me go!"

"Jounouchi!" protested Yugi as Jounouchi made her way into the chamber.

_Honda has saved my life more than once!_ Jounouchi thought. _It's a debt I can never repay, but damn it, I will do my best!_

Jounouchi stepped into the chamber. A set of metal bars slammed down, separating her from her friends.

"Jounouchi!" Honda yelled. "The door's locked!"

Jounouchi stepped forward. It was hard to walk, though. She looked down. _What the hell..._ she thought. _Oil? There's oil on the floor!_

She stepped forward to the small stone platform. There was something on it... She reached forward. Suddenly, she heard a "click!" as a handcuff secured itself around her wrist. She pulled her wrist upward. The cuff didn't come off, but there was a chain she pulled up along with her wrist, so at least she had some mobility. She soon saw that the other end of the chain went into a hole in the platform, and out a nearby hole, with the chopman handcuffed to the end of the chain.

"Aarggh!" Jounouchi yelled. "I've been chained to the monster!"

Kaiba chuckled. "Allow me to introduce you! This is the chopman!"

The chopman interrupted. "Mistress Kaiba! Cad I cud her ub? Id's been soo long!"

"Not until I give the signal," Kaiba admonished.

Jounouchi let out a "hmph." _Crap, he looks tough!_ she thought.

"The rules of the game are simple!" said Kaiba. "After the signal to begin, you each pick a weapon and fight to the death! Your choices are hung from the ceiling! Stand on the podium in the middle to reach them! Be careful not to slip on the oil on the floor!"

Jounouchi let out a "Gggk."

"Jounouchi!" yelled Honda. She was worried for her friend's life. The delinquents they used to fight together were probably nothing compared to the chopman.

The chopman let out an inhuman growl. "Guh huh huh... I cud you ub!"

_This can't be real!_ thought Jounouchi. _I have to get this handcuff off... I need some kind of pin or wire to pick the lock..._

"Game start!" Kaiba announced.

The chopman let out a laugh. "Whad to cud you ub wid...?" he asked to himself.

_I don't have a chance against him!_ Jounouchi thought.

She turned to her friends. "Hey! Any of you have some kind of wire?"

"We'll find you something!" said Yugi.

_This one's too big for a fair fight! It won't matter what weapon I use!_ thought Jounouchi. _Shit! If I don't get this handcuff off, he'll be tossing chunks of me out that door! ___

__"It's no good!" Honda said. "We can't find anything!"_ _

__"Jounouchi!" said Yugi. She hated this situation. She was helpless to do anything to prevent her friend from dying, or at least reduce the risk..._ _

__"Ogay!" said the chopman. "I use dis!" Turning on her chainsaw, she said, "I cud you ub wid dis!"_ _

__Jounouchi ran away screaming. She slipped on the oil. _Ack!_ she thought. _This man's a monster!__ _

__"I slice you in two!" the chopman yelled._ _

__Jounouchi rolled out of the way just in time. The chainsaw hit the platform instead of her body._ _

___At this rate, Jounouchi will die..._ Yugi thought. Suddenly, she came to a realization. "Jounouchi, over there!" she said, pointing. Jounouchi looked._ _

__There was a candle, burning brightly._ _

___A candlestick...?!_ thought Jounouchi. How was that going to be useful? She made a realization. _I get it... It has a point to stick the candle on! I can use it to pick the cuff!__ _

__"Hurry, Jounouchi!" said Yugi._ _

___But even if I get it off, the door's locked!_ thought Jounouchi. _And it's too heavy to bust through!__ _

__"I've got an idea, Jounouchi!" exclaimed Yugi._ _

__"Okay!" said Jounouchi. Hopefully she had the same idea as Yugi, or if she didn't, that it worked out in the end._ _

__The chopman laughed. "I god the chainsaw free!"_ _

__Jounouchi ran over to the door._ _

__The chopman laughed again. "You can't hide ober dere! I cud you ub!" the chopman exclaimed, as Jounouchi seemingly made a vain attempt to open the door. "Cobe here!"_ _

__Jounouchi finished her job and ran to the side of the door, _without_ the cuff, as the chopman pulled his wrist towards himself, ripping the door off its hinges._ _

__"Wuh?!" yelled the chopman._ _

__"What..." Kaiba said. "She got the handcuff off and attached it to the door! Along with the candle!"_ _

__"I just used that monster strength of yours!" said Jounouchi. "Thanks for opening the door for me!" She then quickly made her way out the doorway._ _

__The chopman tried to stop, but it was too late. The door came flying towards him, and the candle fell off._ _

__"Kaiba, when you teamed up with the chopman, it was a demon's mind with a monster's power!" said Jounouchi. "That was a combo made in hell! Too bad it's over now!"_ _

__The candle landed in the oil. The oil caught on fire. The chopman burned to death._ _

__The four walked away._ _

__"C'mon," said Ansei. "Let's hit the next one!"_ _

__Was that the end of the nightmare? Was it all going to be over soon?_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia time! The chopman was based on Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So I referenced that with the title, as well.
> 
> Also, I had to change the mechanism keeping Jounouchi chained to the chopman because of the fact that Johji is not in this fic. In the manga, the chain is underneath a metal ring on the platform, with Johji locking the cuff around Jounouchi's wrist. Jounouchi then has to fight the chopman, while _also_ keeping Johji alive. Here, it sort of goes under the surface of the platform, with a mechanism meant to make the cuff lock around Jounouchi's wrist, so that all this could happen without Johji.


	19. Dance of the Falling Blocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This game is not like the last few! When Yugi and her friends make it to an empty room, it seems like nothing is going on... but in reality, blocks continually fall from the ceiling! Can everyone make it out alive?

"Yugi! Look!" said Honda. "There's the entrance to the next game! We're getting closer to that jerk Kaiba, one step at a time!"

"Yup!" said Yugi.

"C'mon! Hurry!" said Jounouchi.

In a surveillance room, Kaiba watched the four. _So they've made it to Death T-3..._ she thought. _Not outside the realm of chance, but looking over their progress, I see some factors I underestimated. They're a good team. Their close friendship has been the real key to beating the games... I need to break up that union. After all, friendship is just an illusion... Everyone cares the most about themselves... When they find themselves in real trouble, they'll soon betray their friends to save their own hides! That's where Death T-3 comes in... Mheh heh heh..._

Meanwhile, in the hallway, the four made it to a metallic door labelled, "Death T-3".

"This is the entrance to Death T-3!" said Honda.

"What could come after the Horror Zone?!" asked Jounouchi. "Kaiba designed the theme park. You know it's gotta be something even more cheap and sadistic!"

Upon entering, the sight shocked them.

"There's nothing here! It's an empty room!" Jounouchi said.

The door sealed shut behind them.

"All right. Let's look for the way out!" said Jounouchi.

"Search all over!" said Honda. "There has to be some kind of trick!

They looked.

"Square walls..." said Jounouchi.

"And floor," said Yugi.

"There's nothing!" said Jounouchi, frustrated.

"The ceiling's pretty high!" said Honda, looking up. "It's too dark to tell, but maybe it's open at the top..."

"Oh!" said Yugi, who was also looking up. "There's a hole in the wall up there! It's about 10 meters above the floor!"

"They can't expect us to climb up there!" said Honda. "That's impossible!"

"Crap!" said Jounouchi. "There's nothing we can do! We're stuck!"

_Maybe... maybe we're trapped here... and this was Kaiba's plan all along..._ thought Yugi.

"Yugi!" Jounouchi exclaimed, snapping Yugi out of her thoughts. "Don't give up, okay?! We'll just have to wait and see what happens!"

The four sat there on the floor for what felt like forever.

_We've been here ages... nothing has changed... maybe... maybe it does end here..._ Yugi thought. _Grandma... Everyone..._ Out loud, she finally broke. "I'm sorry!" she yelled, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry everyone! It's my fault... If I weren't here, this wouldn't have happened!" So this was what despair felt like...

Jounouchi turned to Yugi. "That's enough, Yugi! Don't you _dare_ say that again!" she said, grabbing Yugi by her blazer.

"Stop, Jounouchi!" said Honda. "What's the matter with you?!"

"Yugi... Don't _say_ things like that! Don't you understand why we came with you?! It's because we're _friends!_ "

Yugi looked shocked. She was no longer crying.

"Anyway, Jounouchi," said Honda, "Let go of her jacket... You're not the same Jounouchi who used to beat her up, remember?"

Jounouchi let go of Yugi.

"Honda..." Jounouchi said. "We've been such stupid punks..."

"Yeah," Honda agreed. "We were stupid punks, all right..."

"Living in a stupid society, with stupid parents, and my stupid self..." Jounouchi continued. "I never learned to like myself... until I met _you,_ Yugi!"

"Huh?!" Yugi said. What had caused that to change?

"You were this innocent little kid," said Jounouchi. "Everyone took advantage of you... At first, I couldn't stand to watch you! I thought you were an idiot... But... I wasn't really mad at you, Yugi... I was mad at _myself..._ "

"I know how you feel," said Honda. "I was the same. I would get so wound up, I just needed to pick a fight... it didn't matter who. some local punks... even a telephone pole! I'd hit them with everything I had. Then I'd realize, the person I really wanted to hit, was _me..._ "

Ansei looked at Honda and Jounouchi with surprise.

"Yugi..." said Jounouchi. "You remember when I stole part of your puzzle? When I gave that back... You can laugh, but that took more courage than anything... But, just then, I started to like myself a little bit... For the first time in my life..." She then grabbed Yugi by the shoulders. "Listen to me, Yugi! You know what _friends_ are?! They're someone you _like!_ And because of them you learn to like _yourself!_ That's why I hang out with you, Yugi! So if it hurts, or whatever, let me share it! That's what friends are for!"

Yugi teared up. _Jounouchi... I..._ She wasn't sure how she would finish the sentence. This was new. Even after being friends with Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda so long, she was unused to people besides her grandmother giving her any kind of positive attention, let alone such strong words of encouragement...

"I'm not giving up yet..." said Jounouchi. "So don't you give up either! 'Kay, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded. "O-okay..."

"No one learns to like themselves on their own..." said Ansei. "It's a big game you play throughout your life..." Suddenly, she looked up. "Hey! Look at this white room! Doesn't it remind you of a blank canvas? I always thought if I went somewhere special with my friends, I'd leave my name there to remember it by!" Suddenly, he pulled something out. "Heh heh... I've got a magic marker! Put your hands out, everyone!"

"What are you up to, Ansei?" Jounouchi asked.

"Just gimme your hands," said Ansei.

The four stretched their hands out in front of them.

Ansei began drawing on each of their hands.

"See! A smiley face!" he exclaimed. And indeed, when you put their right hands together in the arrangement they were in, it did form a smiley face.

"Listen up!" Ansei continued. "Even after we graduate and go our separate ways, if we're ever alone, we just have to think of this smiley face, and we'll remember being here, and being friends! Even when I'm studying dance in New York, I'll always remember the time I spent with you guys."

"I got it!" exclaimed Jounouchi. So that was the point of Ansei having everyone stretch their hands out!

"The ink of the marker will wear off," said Ansei, "but in our hearts, the ring will always be there!"

Suddenly, something fell from the ceiling.

"Look out!" yelled Jounouchi.

The four scattered out of the way.

"Wh-what the?!" said Jounouchi, shocked.

"A giant cube dropped from above?!" Yugi yelled. "This is the game! The game of Death T-3 has begun!"

Yugi looked up. "Be careful, guys! There's another cube coming!"

Jounouchi let out an "Urk!"

In the surveillance room, Kaiba smirked. _Now then!_ she thought. _Let's see how many make it out of that room without being flattened._

In the white room, the four were struggling to dodge the falling cubes.

"Darn," said Yugi. "You can't tell where the next cube is going to fall! All we can do is run around dodging!"

Back in the surveillance room, Kaiba thought to herself, _Mheh heh heh... That's right, run... In this game, your numbers are a liability! Stop to worry about someone else, and you'll be squashed by a cube! You can't win this game without sacrificing your friends!_

Back in the white room, Yugi said, "This is like dancing with death!"

"There's no place left to run!" Jounouchi yelled.

"Everyone climb on top of the cubes!" said Yugi. "The point of the game is to get out of the room!"

"I get it!" said Jounouchi. "We dodge the falling cubes and climb up until they get to that exit!"

Yugi had barely managed to get onto the cube when another one fell behind her. Thankfully, it missed.

"Guys!" Yugi yelled. "Keep away from the edges of the room! If you get boxed in, you're dead!"

Jounouchi let out a "Ggk!" as a cube fell near her. "Crap!" she said. "At this rate we're going to be flattened! How do we get out of this?!"

Ansei suddenly came to a realization. "Hold on!" he said. "There's a rhythm to the timing of the falling cubes! Maybe there's some rule as to where they fall as well."

"I get it!" said Yugi. "You're trained as a dancer! You've got a talent for reading rhythms!"

Ansei counted silently in his head.

"There!" he exclaimed, pointing to one spot. Sure enough, a cube fell there.

"That's awesome!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "You knew where the next cube would fall!"

"If the timing of the falling cubes is rhythm," explained Ansei, "and the places where they fall are the steps of a dance, then it's like the cubes are following a simple dance!"

"I get it!" said Yugi. "The mechanism of this game is too big for the computer program controlling it to be too complex! They had to keep it simple! So the cubes only know easy dances!"

"All right!" said Honda. "All we have to do is stay light on our feet, like dancers, and make it to the exit! This game's easy if you know where the cubes are going to fall!"

They continued climbing the cubes, with Ansei pointing out where the next cube was going to fall, and the others preparing accordingly. Soon enough, the blocks had piled up high enough that they reached the exit. All of them except Honda, that is…

"Hang in there guys!" said Jounouchi. "We're almost to the exit!"

"Hurry, Yugi!" said Honda.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. Huh?! thought Ansei. The rhythm changed…?! "Honda, look out!" he said. A block was falling.

"Honda! Are you all right?!" asked Jounouchi.

Honda let out a sigh of relief. "That was close…"

"Be careful!" said Yugi. "The rhythm is getting faster!"

"All right, let's move!" said Honda. She tried to move… except she couldn't.

"Ansei and I are out!" said Jounouchi. "Yugi! Honda! Up here!"

"Yugi, give me your hand, quick!" said Honda.

"You go first, Honda!"

"Just give me your hand before the cubes block the exit!" said Honda.

Yugi did just that.

"Jounouchi! Take Yugi!" said Honda.

"Got 'er!" said Jounouchi. "Now, c'mon! What're you waiting for?"

"This is as far as I go…" said Honda, smiling.

Jounouchi's eyes widened. This was the smile of a person prepared for death. She realized what happened. The back of Honda's skirt got caught between the blocks. The blocks were heavy enough that it wasn't likely that she could escape.

"Goodbye, guys…" said Honda.

"Honda…!" said Yugi.

A block fell, separating Honda from the three.

"Honda!" Jounouchi yelled. No! No! Not after everything… not after everything they'd been through! "I won't believe it!" she shouted. "Honda can't be gone! You can't get rid of that idiot so easily…"

_Honda is… because of me, Honda is dead…_ thought Yugi. _My friends… my grandmother… taken from me… curse you, Kaiba!_

"Yugi…" said Ansei, searching for words that might comfort her. He said the only thing he could think of. "Honda's all right! I'm sure she's alive!"

"Listen up, Honda!" said Jounouchi, tears in her eyes.. "We're gonna go on ahead, but you better use that hard head of yours to get outta that fix! We'll be waiting for you, idiot!"

In the surveillance room, Mokuno walked up to Kaiba. "They don't give up easy, do they, big sister?" she said.

"Mokuno...?" asked Kaiba, mildly confused by her younger sister's sudden entrance into the room.

"They're almost at the final stage!" exclaimed Mokuno. "And you know what _that_ means! Do you remember your bet with me? The one we made before you started the Death-T plan? We bet on which stage of the theme park Yugi would die in! And you bet on Death T-5! Isn't that right, big sister?"

"You bet on Death T-4, didn't you...?" Kaiba asked.

"Of course I did, you jerk!" said Mokuno. Like she needed a reminder of what she bet on. "Death T-4 is the stage where I fight Yugi!"

"Yes, I know, Mokuno..." said Kaiba. "I bet on the final stage of the theme park, Death T-5... The final game of Duel Monsters!"

"You know what I mean!" Mokuno snapped in frustration. "You bet on _Yugi_ instead of on _me,_ your own sister! How do you think that feels?!" Did Setomi have no faith in Mokuno? Did she really have more faith in a complete stranger than her own family? Her sister, who stood so faithfully by her for their entire lives?!

"And I still feel the same," Kaiba said icily. " _You_ can't beat Yugi. I opposed your participation from the beginning." Mokuno growled in frustration. "Mokuno..." Kaiba continued, "You tried to show me up by challenging Yugi to a game before, didn't you...? Do you _think_ I don't know the outcome of that game?"

Mokuno looked fearful. "Th-that's not... I... I just... I just thought you'd care about me if I beat her..."

"Know this!" Kaiba shouted. "There is _no such thing_ as sisterly love in the gaming world! Until you figure that out, you will always be a loser, Mokuno!"

Mokuno gulped, then gathered her courage. She said, "I'll show you! I'll beat Yugi myself!" Turning to a pair of security guards behind her, she said, "You! Are the preparations for Death T-4 ready?!"

"Yes ma'am!" said one guard.

"Yes, Mistress Mokuno!" said the other.

"Then let's go!" said Mokuno.

_Just you watch,_ thought Mokuno. _Today I'll finally show my sister that I_ am _a gamer!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the first draft of this chapter, Honda didn't get caught in the blocks because I didn't think any part of the girls' uniform could get caught on the blocks. When I was editing, though, I realized that the skirt could get caught on the blocks, so I changed it.


	20. Capsule-vania II: Mokuno's Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Honda gone, Yugi, Jounouchi, and Ansei must continue forth. Yugi must now confront Mokuno Kaiba once again, in a Capsule Monsters match! But is there more to Mokuno than meets the eye?

In the hallway to the next stage of Death-T, Yugi fell over onto her hands and knees, panting.

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi, concerned. "Are you okay, Yugi?!"

"I..." said Yugi. Well, now was the time to tell them. "I can't hold it back... Something inside of me..."

"Yugi... you're just tired from all the stress..." said Ansei. "It's okay..."

"No..." said Yugi. "I... There's something I've kept secret from all of you..."

Jounouchi and Ansei looked shocked. What could be wrong?

"I think there's another me inside myself that I don't know about..." Yugi said, clutching her hair.

"Another Yugi?!" Jounouchi asked.

"Ever since I solved the Millennium Puzzle," said Yugi, "there's been times when I black out... I think I'm changing into someone that I don't know about..."

Jounouchi gaped. Did Yugi have a split personality? She thought that was only supposed to happen in fiction!

"I'm scared," Yugi admitted, tears in her eyes. "I've finally become friends with you guys... I was afraid that if you knew about the other me... you might _leave_ me!"

"Yugi, I swear to you! Even if there is another person inside of you, we'll always be friends!" said Jounouchi

_Jounouchi..._ thought Yugi. The tears seemed to stop.

"She's right!" said Ansei. "We'll always be friends!"

_Ansei..._ thought Yugi. _Guys... thank you..._ Out loud, she said, "Okay, let's keep going!

The three ran to the door at the end of the hallway. They heard cheering. They stepped through the doors.

"Th-this is..." said Yugi. It was an arena, not unlike the one that Yugi had entered the first door from.

"Death T-4!" exclaimed an all-too-familiar voice. "Welcome to my stage, Yugi!"

"Mokuno!" said Yugi.

"Yugi!" said Mokuno. "This is a battle between you and me! Leave your friends where they are and come to the duel box alone!"

"Yugi! It's too dangerous to go alone!" Ansei protested.

"I'll go too!" said Jounouchi. No way was Yugi going to face the danger without help. Jounouchi remembered what happened to Sugako when she lost against Kaiba. She was not risking having that happen to Yugi.

"No!" said Yugi. "Let me go alone!"

"Yugi..." Jounouchi protested weakly.

"It's okay!" said Yugi. "I'm not a weakling anymore! I'm not alone! I have my friends! I have you guys no matter where you are!"

"I'm glad..." said Jounouchi.

"It's thanks to you guys!" said Yugi. :You taught me what real courage is!"

Jounouchi smiled at Yugi. She had changed so much since befriending her and Honda. She was so proud of Yugi...

"And I won't be afraid of the other me anymore!" She let the change happen. As always, her eyes grew sharp and proud, with some bangs sticking up.

Jounouchi and Ansei were shocked at first. This was the first time they noticed the transformation, and the physical changes it caused.

After transforming, the other Yugi turned her head behind her, towards her friends. "Jounouchi! Ansei! I will win!" she said, voice deep and confident.

The other two looked shocked. Until now, they hadn't thought to notice the subtle changes besides Yugi's behavior.

_Th-this is the other Yugi...!_ thought Jounouchi. So that's why she seemed to become a different person when gaming! She almost _literally_ became a different person!

The other Yugi walked forward, towards the Duel Cube. The crowd shouted insults about Yugi, but the other Yugi kept her cool and ignored it. So who cared. She had beaten Mokuno once, and she would do so again. She entered the cube, where Mokuno awaited.

"Yugi!" said Mokuno. "Congratulations on making it to Death T-4! Too bad for you, it was just a warm-up!"

"Pft!" said the other Yugi. "You again? Haven't you learned your lesson, brat?" Mokuno got on the other Yugi's nerves. She was arrogant, but look what that got her when she faced the other Yugi the last time.

Mokuno chuckled, in a manner reminiscent of her older sister. "The other Yugi, huh...? That's just fine! Yugi! I'll let you in on something! The last stage you're trying to get to, the final arena with my big sister, is on the floor above this one..." Pointing behind herself, she said, "See! That elevator takes you there!"

"So I've got to beat you to get to it..." said the other Yugi. Not that that would be difficult.

"Like you have a _chance!_ " said Mokuno. "You're gonna die at this stage! Along with your friends!"

The other Yugi looked back. Her friends had guns to their heads. She called their names in vain. "Mokuno... you little..." Mokuno merely chuckled.

"Yugi!" Jounouchi called. "Don't worry about us! Just kick her butt at her own game!"

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

"Now! Let the game begin!" Mokuno announced. "Death T-4! The competition this time is Capsule Monsters Chess! The virtual reality version! We will play Capsule Monster Chess on this board... But the battle will be displayed by virtual reality on the giant field below us! Let me give you a demonstration!" She popped a Level 5 capsule open. "This strong piece is like me! It will do battle with this pathetic, low-level piece like you!" Honestly, the other Yugi knew that phrasing that the other way around was more accurate, but she said nothing. Better to have others think her a fool than to open her mouth and confirm it. Something like that.

Mokuno set a level 5 Armorsaurus, a dinosaur figure, on the board next to a level 1 Hyumoko, an alien creature with two eye-stalks. Below the duelists, giant holograms appeared. The Armorsaurus, predictably, destroyed the Hyumoko. Mokuno let out a rather cliched-sounding evil laugh, saying, "I'll destroy you just like I destroyed this weak little monster! Of course, the loser will play a penalty game – The Experience of Death! Now, the game begins!" _I will defeat Yugi,_ thought Mokuno. _I'll be the one to destroy her! I'll show my sister! Heh heh heh!_

"I'll take you on, Mokuno!" said the other Yugi. _I have to win to make it to the final stage... and Kaiba! Wait for me, Grandma!_

The other Yugi and Mokuno each took capsule monsters from a coin-operated machine.

_Heh heh heh..._ thought Mokuno. _This machine is rigged to give me the most powerful capsule monsters! And to leave you stuck with a group of weaklings!_ Mokuno's monsters were Armorsaurus, Zoid M, Big Foot, Nama Hargen, and Megaton.

The other Yugi took stock of her own monsters. They were Toppo, Brain Slime, Beeton, Ninja Squid, and Mogley. _The machine must have been rigged!_ thought the other Yugi. _Mokuno! You planned this all along!_

"Place your capsules in your territory!" said Mokuno, a wide grin on her face. "Heh heh heh! See if you can think up a good formation for those monsters!" She had this in the bag. There was no way Yugi could have gotten monsters with potentially-dangerous effects. There was no way she could pull a victory against her again. The first time was a fluke, right? Setomi would be so proud of her. They would finally be close again like they were so many years ago.

_Now, how to fight..._ thought the other Yugi. _This board has one path on each side, but you can't get by if the enemy is waiting for you... I have it!_

"If you're done, then capsules out!" said Mokuno. "Don't wet yourself when you see my monsters, Yugi!"

The two of them set up their formations.

"Ugh!" said Mokuno. "What's that setup supposed to be? All the weaklings clumped together! What a noob! Yugi, you suck!" Well, this was going to be an easy win. Really, Yugi must have realized that she was going to lose anyway and wanted to just get it over with. Mokuno was not going to question it.

_Almost all Mokuno's monsters are level 5,_ thought the other Yugi. _If I fight them one on one, they'll be unstoppable. This is the only way to face them!_

"All right! Game start!" said Mokuno.

On the field, holograms of each monster manifested.

"C'mon Yugi! You gotta win!" yelled Jounouchi, loud enough for her friend to hear. _Yugi,_ she thought, _there's no flip side to friendship! We'll stick by you no matter what!_

"I go first!" said Mokuno. "Armorsaurus moves! Your move, Yugi!"

The other Yugi sat there silently, eyes closed.

"Did you hear me?! I said it's your move!"

"I pass," said the other Yugi. "I don't have to move."

"What?!" Mokuno yelled indignantly. _Yugi... you're up to something! See if I care..._ she thought. Out loud, she said, "Fine! If you won't move, then I'll come to you!" Yeesh, what was Yugi's problem? _I'll split my monsters into two groups and attack from both front and behind! I'll completely destroy her!_

Mokuno moved Big Foot next.

The other Yugi once again remained silent, eyes closed.

Mokuno moved Zoid M.

The other Yugi yet again remained silent, eyes still closed.

Yugi... Jounouchi thought. What are you doing? Had Yugi fallen asleep during the duel? Did she not have a plan to win and was simply waiting for it all to end? God, no! Yugi couldn't lose! Not when the stakes were this high!

Several turns later, Mokuno had Yugi's monsters surrounded. "This duel is mine, Yugi!" she said. She was clearly going to win.

The other Yugi suddenly opened her eyes. She moved Beeton.

"You're too late, Yugi!" said Mokuno. "Armorsaurus burns up your weakling monster in one blast!" Brain Slime was destroyed.

Yugi let out an "Urk..."

"Ha! I'm not done yet," said Mokuno. "Armorsaurus' turn isn't over! He attacks one more monster!" That monster was Toppo.

Mokuno laughed again. "Yugi, you've already lost two monsters!"

The other Yugi was silent. _It's not over yet..._ she thought.

"I'm going to have some fun and destroy all your monsters with just Armorsaurus!" She laughed again. "Go, Armorsaurus! Flatten that wimp!" 'That wimp' being Mogley. Nothing could go wrong... right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Mogley dug underground, causing Armorsaurus to roll past it.

"W-what?!" said Mokuno, shocked. No way... I forgot he can burrow!

Armorsaurus continued rolling, until he hit Megaton. They destroyed each other.

Mokuno let out a "Ggk!" This is what Yugi was up to...

"High level monsters have unrivaled power, but you need to learn to control it!" the other Yugi admonished. "Now you've lost two monsters, Mokuno!"

"Awright! Yugi's fighting back!" exclaimed Jounouchi. So she hadn't given up after all!

"And now," said the other Yugi, "I'll move Ninja Squid to attack Zoid M." Normally, a level 2 monster couldn't defeat a level 5 enemy, but there was a way. Namely, Ninja Squid had the ability "Self-Destruct". Ninja Squid took out Zoid M along with itself. "And now, a path has been opened."

"Huh?!" asked Mokuno. She took a look at the board. Now Beeton could go to an elevated space called an Evolution Space. _She sacrificed the other pieces to let one weak monster reach the evolution space! My monsters are too far away! I can't stop Beeton from evolving!_

The other Yugi moved Beeton to the evolution space.

_Monsters that reach the evolution space automatically gain three levels!_ thought Mokuno. _Which means this useless level 2 will transform into a powerful monster!_

Beeton transformed into Hyper Beetle.

"No matter how weak a monster is, if you believe in each step it takes, it will grow strong!" said the other Yugi. She could sense something, as though her other self, too, was speaking.

Mokuno could only stare at the board.

The other Yugi moved Hyper Beetle to destroy Nama Hargen.

Now, Mokuno had only one monster left.

"Yugi, this battle will decide the game!" said Mokuno. _Heh heh,_ she thought. _Hyper Beetle's long range attacks are powerful... But in close quarters, Big Foot is stronger!_

Hyper Beetle and Big Foot rushed at each other.

Mokuno laughed. "Hyper Beetle is dead! Yugi! You're done for!" She laughed again. "Yugi... you had another monster hiding on the board, didn't you? Do you think I'll let it get away?"

Mogley emerged from under the board.

"This is it! The last monster! Ha ha ha! Big Foot! Stomp that coward flat!" Nothing could go wrong... right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Before Big Foot could deliver the final blow, it began to crack.

"You know the saying, 'It's not over until it's over'?" asked the other Yugi.

Big Foot broke into several pieces.

_Big Foot's body is...!_ thought Mokuno. _It can't be... Hyper Beetle's attack was a critical hit?!_

"Well, now it's over," said the other Yugi. "I win, Mokuno."

_N-no way..._ thought Mokuno. _It's a mistake... no... I... I lost?! Again?!_

_All right, Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi. _Your card game with Kaiba is next!_

As Mokuno kept muttering "no way" over and over, the other Yugi told her, "I'm going."

"Wait! Yugi!" shouted Mokuno. The other Yugi paused in her movements. "I... I won't believe it! There's no way I could lose! All of my capsule monsters were higher level and stronger than yours! There was no way I could lose to you!" The other Yugi remained silent. Mokuno was as sore a loser as her sister.

Suddenly, the screens above the duel cube activated.

"Kaiba!" said the other Yugi.

The person in question chuckled. "I've been waiting for you, Yugi! Good job. I've gotten bored of these amusements." Did she seriously consider overly-elaborate murder attempts _amusements?_ "Take that path to the elevator and rise to the final stage!"

"I will!" said the other Yugi. "You'll get your game all right, Kaiba!"

Kaiba turned to Mokuno, glaring at her.

"S-Setomi..." said Mokuno, sounding genuinely frightened. "Ah... I..."

Kaiba interrupted. "I've felt your pathetic, clinging loser's gaze staring at my back for years. I kept telling you over and over, Mokuno, if you play with fire you'll get burned..."

Mokuno's face broke into sweat. "B-big sister!" she said.

"You understand, don't you? Only the winner is allowed out of that duel box!" said Kaiba. "A penalty game awaits the loser! That is the law of Death-T!"

_Huh?!_ thought Mokuno. _She wouldn't... my sister wouldn't do it to me... not that! Not the Experience of Death!_

The other Yugi heard Mokuno's screaming. She turned to look. Holograms of monsters manifested inside the Duel Cube.

"Mokuno!" she said. _Impossible!_ she thought. _Kaiba's putting her own sister through a penalty game!_

Mokuno continued screaming. _S-save me, big sister!_ she thought. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Mokuno! Take my hand!" said the other Yugi. Mokuno immediately did so. She was pulled out of the Duel Cube. She gasped.

"Wh-why?" Mokuno asked. "Why did you save me...?"

"Mokuno," said the other Yugi, gently smiling, "I wouldn't have won this game if I didn't have friends who reached out to me."

_Friends?_ Mokuno thought, confused. This contradicted one of the key things Setomi had taught her. Friends were weaknesses that could be exploited. She remembered their last conversation. Setomi had shouted at her that there was no such thing as sisterly love, that until she realized that she would always be a loser. Now she didn't know who to believe. The sister who shouted at her many times in their past, but she had stood by for so many years, or someone who was basically a complete stranger, but had treated her better in that one moment than Setomi had in years. She fell to her knees. She took out a picture. It was of the two of them playing chess together. _S-s-sister..._ Mokuno thought. She came to a realization. _My sister has changed._ It all started that day... that day that they had been adopted. Setomi never seemed to play games for the fun of it anymore. She was now so focused on winning at all costs. _Yugi... maybe when you face my sister..._ Perhaps her sister would go back to normal. Perhaps they would finally be close again. God, what wouldn't she give for that...

Back in the surveillance room, Kaiba picked up her briefcase. She told her security guards, "I'm heading to the final stage, Death T-5!" She would get her revenge here.


	21. Death-T, Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other Yugi must win the duel against Kaiba. But when she does, she discovers just why Kaiba sought revenge against her...

"You're going upstairs as well!" said a security guard, gun pointed at Jounouchi's head.

"You bet!" said Jounouchi. "Front row seats if you please! Where we can get a good view when Yugi > _clobbers_ that jerk Kaiba!" 

Meanwhile, the other Yugi was in the elevator. _Kaiba, you've hurt my friends and family,_ she thought. _I'll never forgive you, even if you beg for mercy!_

The doors opened. The other Yugi was at Death T-5, the final stage of this seemingly never-ending nightmare. At the end of the path before here was a platform with a table and two chairs, surrounded by an octagonal structure with gaps in the sides for duelists to enter. Beyond that, there was another path, ending in an open elevator, where Kaiba was.

"Welcome to the final stage, Yugi!" said Kaiba.

"Kaiba!" said the other Yugi, glaring at the aforementioned individual.

The two made their way to the table, sitting down at the seats. The two glared at each other.

Kaiba chuckled. "Words mean nothing to us anymore," she said. "What will decide our fates are the cards!" She set her deck on the table.

"All right!" said the other Yugi, setting her own deck down.

_Mheh heh heh,_ thought Kaiba. _I congratulate you on getting this far. It's almost a shame that this is where you'll probably die... I have in my deck three of the strongest card in the world, the unfathomably rare Blue-Eyes White Dragon! No card exists that can defeat them!_ Out loud, she said, "Before starting the game, we will shuffle and cut each other's decks!"

In the crowd, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda watched with a sense of dread. _Yugi..._ thought Jounouchi. What if Yugi lost? They could do nothing but watch.

Kaiba and the other Yugi began their duel. They both had 2000 life points.They drew five cards for their opening hands.

"I summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress in attack mode!" said the other Yugi. It had 1400 attack points and 1200 defense points. "I end my turn!"

"I'll take you on!" said Kaiba. "My card is Hitotsu-Me Giant!"

"Winged Dragon! Fire ball!" said the other Yugi. The Hitotsu-Me Giant went down in flames. "Your cyclops was destroyed with that attack! You lose 200 life points!"

Kaiba chuckled. "That doesn't hurt," she said. She was now at 1800 life points. Drawing a card, she said, "Yugi, I can feel your puny heart pounding every time I draw a card. That's because you know the moment I draw my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, you will _die..._ " And indeed, she must be nervous about that, because she could notice Yugi was sweating already. "The card I draw is The Wicked Worm Beast!" She summoned it in attack mode. It had 1400 attack points and 700 defense points. "Worm Beast, attack him!"

The Winged Dragon dodged the attack. Kaiba made a "Tch" sound.

"And now, counterattack!" said the other Yugi. The Winged Dragon destroyed the Worm Beast.

Kaiba's life points remained at 1800.

"Awright! Way to go, Yugi!" said Jounouchi, smiling. Ansei was similarly relieved.

"My turn is over, but I don't have any monsters on the field," said Kaiba. "According to the first edition rules, this means I can put out a free monster in defense mode using one of the cards in my hand." She summoned a monster in defense position.

"My turn!" said the other Yugi. "I draw a card from my deck!" _I don't know card Kaiba just played,_ she thought. _If I attack her and her defense is higher than my attack points, I would be the one damaged..._ Out loud, she said, "I'll play my card in defense mode as well. I end my turn!"

Kaiba chuckled. "You plan to build up a strong defense before I draw a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but that won't work! I was a champion _before_ I owned a Blue-Eyes, and even _without_ one, I can defeat you! I'll prove that right now! I change my monster from defense to attack mode!" The monster was Saggi the Dark Clown, which had 600 attack points and 1500 defense points. Kaiba chuckled again. "Saggi could never defeat the Winged Dragon at his current attack power. That's why I use the spell card Dark Energy to triple his attack power!" Saggi now had 1800 attack points. "Now! Kill the dragon! Dark Glide!"

The other Yugi was now at 1600 life points.

_There must be a trump card to defeat Kaiba in this deck!_ the other Yugi thought. She drew a card, Right Leg of the Forbidden One. It had 200 attack points and 300 defense points. _Rrrg... Useless!_ she thought. She set another monster in defense mode.

Kaiba attacked for several turns, eventually leaving the other Yugi with 1400 life points.

"Yugi!" Jounouchi and Ansei yelled.

_Hang in there, for your grandma's sake,_ thought Ansei.

_Yugi! You have to win!_ thought Jounouchi.

"Yugi, you disappoint me!" said Kaiba. "I don't even need my Blue-Eyes for this duel!"

The other Yugi was silent. She was sweating.

"But what do you _expect_ with the deck that failure of an old woman left behind? I can hear the gasps of her last breaths echoing from the cards!"

"I believe in these cards!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. "Gaia the Fierce Knight!" she said. Gaia had 2300 attack points and 2100 defense points.

Kaiba's eyes widened. _The most powerful Warrior card!_ she thought.

"Go, Dark Knight!" said the other Yugi. "Vanquish Saggi! Spiral Saber!" With that, Saggi was down.

_Alright, Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi. _You know your grandma wouldn't give you terrible cards!_

Kaiba's life points were now 1300.

"Well, well," said Kaiba. "I suppose the deck of a game store owner would have to have a decent card or two..."

"You can't predict this duel, not until the very end," said the other Yugi.

Kaiba chuckled. "Don't get arrogant," she said. "I _know_ how this duel will end! It's my turn now!" She drew a card. "I've drawn the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" she exclaimed, laughing maniacally. "Too bad! Just after you'd drawn your trump card!"

The other Yugi let out a rather undignified-sounding "Uh!" as she looked up at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon hologram, sweating. Blue-Eyes attacked Gaia, leaving the other Yugi at 700 life points.

"Now, Yugi... Draw!" said Kaiba. "No matter what monster you bring out, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon will blow it away!"

The other Yugi drew a card. An Imp. 1300 attack, 1000 defense. _No good,_ she thought. _This card won't last more than an instant!_ "I set a monster in defense mode!"

"Attack!" said Kaiba.

This pattern repeated over many turns.

"It's painful to watch!" said Kaiba. "As long as you play your monsters in defense mode, your life points don't change, no matter how many monsters I slaughter! But you're only drawing out your inevitable demise!

_Kaiba's right,_ the other Yugi thought. _But if I play a monster in attack mode, I lose!_

"Now, play your next monster!" said Kaiba. "Eventually, you'll run out of cards! Then you lose!"

_It's no good!_ thought the other Yugi. _My cards' attack scores just aren't high enough..._

She set another monster in defense mode.

"Attack! ...Is that what you expect me to do? I won't... not this time! Rather than put your Beaver Warrior out of its misery, I'll summon another monster!"

_I knew this was coming!_ thought the other Yugi. _If she brings out more monsters, I won't have enough defenders to stop them! I'll lose in the next turn!_

Kaiba drew a card.

"It looks like the goddess of victory is on my side..." said Kaiba quietly. Out loud, she said, "My next card is Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" She chuckled. "On my next turn, these two will attack! Your life is _over,_ Yugi!"

The other Yugi gulped. _I could play another monster this turn,_ thought the other Yugi, _but next turn I'd be defenseless! Her dragons can kill two of my monsters each turn, but I can only draw one new card! I've lost..._

_I win!_ thought Kaiba. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The other Yugi closed her eyes. _I... I won't give up! I'm not fighting this duel alone! Everything rides on this card!_ Opening her eyes, she drew another card. Out loud, she said, "I play the spell card, Swords of Revealing Light!"

"What?!" said Kaiba, her eyes widening. This was the one thing she was not expecting.

"The Swords of Revealing Light bind your Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" said the other Yugi. _Now I'm safe, even if just for three turns!_ she thought.

"Feh, you still haven't given up?" said Kaiba. _You're beginning to annoy me,_ she thought.

"Way to go, Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Well," said Kaiba. "You've used up the last of your luck, anyway. You can only bind the Blue-Eyes for three turns! What can you do in that short time?"

_She's right,_ the other Yugi thought. _I've only extended my life three turns... there's nothing I can do..._

"Now, it's my turn to draw a card," said Kaiba. She did just that. "I'll put this monster in defense position. That way the Blue-Eyes White Dragons will have the honor of finishing you off. That's how I envisioned this finale from the start. Now let's begin the countdown to your death. Draw your card! You have three turns!"

_I have four cards in my hand,_ the other Yugi thought. _Only one is a monster card I can use in battle... the other three are useless. I don't even know what they mean... these are junk cards... there's no way to defeat Kaiba... the Swords of Revealing Light are only a ploy for time... I've lost..._ Suddenly, she remembered something her grandmother had said. That there was nothing meaningless in this world, and to never give up. Her other self hadn't given up solving the Millennium Puzzle, even though it took eight years. As long as she could still draw a card, she still had a chance to win this duel. The other Yugi remembered something else her grandmother had told her, that there were no meaningless cards. _In Duel Monsters, cards usually work alone. One card summons one monster... But there is one monster that's different, a monster that you have to collect five cards in order to summon, Exodia! Grandma has those five cards in this deck!_ She had three of the five necessary cards. She also had three turns in which to draw the remaining two. Unfortunately, that only left a slim margin for error, but it was her best shot.

"Yugi! What are you waiting for?! Draw your card!" snapped Kaiba. What was she just sitting there for?! If she wanted to surrender, she just had to put her hand on her deck! Had she been internally monologuing about how she had lost hope or something? How did fictional villains deal with the heroes monologuing on and on and _on?_

Yugi was still silent.

"That's enough! You're just stalling to extend your miserable existence!" said Kaiba. "Draw your card!"

"I'll draw now!" said the other Yugi. _Finally,_ thought Kaiba. _Yeesh, what was taking her so damn long?_

The other Yugi drew a card. The Right Arm of the Forbidden One. _I've collected four of the cards!_

_Yugi's expression has changed,_ thought Kaiba. _Heh, but there's no card better than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Yugi's hope is like the last flicker of a candle before it's blown out..._

"My turn," said Kaiba. She drew a card. "Well, it's dull just sitting here, so I'll use Judgeman to destroy your defensive monster..." Judgeman had 2200 attack points and 1500 defense points. It easily took out Beaver Warrior.

The other Yugi sat there in silence, eyes widened. If she didn't draw the final card she needed soon...

Kaiba chuckled. "Two turns left!" she said.

The other Yugi drew a card. _The Dark Magician! I could play it in defense mode, but it won't matter against two Blue-Eyes White Dragons..._ The Dark Magician had 2500 attack points and 2100 defense points, making her one of the more powerful spellcasters. Out loud, she said, "I play the Dark Magician in attack mode! Judgeman, die! Black Magic!" Judgeman was destroyed.

"Feh, the futile struggles of the condemned!" said Kaiba.

"Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. "I won't give up on this duel until the end! I'll take every chance I get to chip away at your life points! You lost 300 points with that move!"

Kaiba's life points were now at 1000.

"Is that so..." Kaiba muttered. Out loud, she said, "It's the last turn! You have no chance left. And the last card I draw is the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Burst Stream of Destruction! Destroy the Dark Magician!"

The other Yugi was now at 200 life points.

Kaiba laughed maniacally. "Now! Draw your last card, Yugi! No matter what card you draw, you will die!"

"Yugi, no!" yelled Jounouchi. No... Yugi couldn't lose! There was no way...

"Now the Blue-Eyes White Dragons have been released!" said Kaiba. "On the next turn, the three Blue-Eyes will attack together and you'll go to negative 8800 life points!" Negative life points weren't possible, not that that would stop Kaiba from gloating in her unstable state.

_My last turn,_ thought the other Yugi. _My life rides on this last card!_

Kaiba chuckled. At this point, Jounouchi wanted to punch that little smirk off of her. "Well, Yugi, it's your turn. Time to draw the last card of your life!"

The other Yugi looked down at her deck. _In my hand I have four pieces of the forbidden one... both legs... both arms... if these are the cards Grandma was talking about, the cards that summon the forgotten god Exodia... if I can get all five, I'll be able to summon Exodia! All I need to do is draw the last card! But... forty cards in my deck... five cards in my hand... What are the chances of drawing the one I need? Am I going to lose?_

"Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "Hang in there! Don't give up until the end!"

"Yugi..." said Ansei.

"Do it now! Pick your card, Yugi!" yelled Kaiba. She was grinning in a truly maniacal manner.

The other Yugi looked at her in silence.

_Mheh heh heh... you're just delaying the inevitable,_ thought Kaiba. _No matter what card you draw, there's nothing that can stand against the might of three Blue-Eyes White Dragons!_

The other Yugi reached towards her deck.

_That's it,_ thought Kaiba. _Draw the card and you can rest in peace! Rest for eternity and shuffle off this mortal coil!_

The other Yugi hesitated, her hand hovering midway between herself and her deck. _I should be able to reach the cards,_ she thought, _but they seem so far away all of a sudden! No! It's not the cards! It's me! I'm trying to escape, to get out of drawing it! My fear is making the distance wider! I'm afraid... afraid to draw the last card..._

Suddenly, she remembered something. Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda's hands. She remembered the white room. How Ansei had everyone hold out their hands, and had drawn a smiley face across their hands. "If we're ever alone, we just have to think of this smiley face," Ansei had said. She remembered her friends' smiles. _We're here for you, Yugi,_ they seemed to say. The memory gave her hope.

She lowered her hand onto her deck and drew one last card.

_Mmm?_ thought Kaiba. _What happened? A moment ago, Yugi's face was twisted in fear... why's she smiling? Has she gone past fear? Has she accepted that she's going to die?!_

"No, Kaiba!" said the other Yugi, as though she had read her mind. "It's hope that you're seeing!"

The other Yugi looked at her card. Yes! The one card she needed! "My next card is Exodia the Forbidden One!"

_...What...? Exodia...?_ thought Kaiba. There was no way. No way that some pathetic old woman would have something as powerful as Exodia. If she had, she would have beaten Kaiba all the way back before Yugi had entered Death-T. No. No. No!

"I have all five cards!" said the other Yugi.

The cards appeared in virtual reality, a group of five floating above the other Yugi's head. Beams of energy flowed between them in a pentagram shape.

_It can't be..._ thought Kaiba. _The Exodia cards... they really exist... where did she... where did she get them?_

The individual limbs of Exodia emerged from their respective cards, followed by the rest of him.

"Rage Inferno! Exodia Flame!" the other Yugi exclaimed. Exodia shot a beam of flame. It completely obliterated the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and the remainder of Kaiba's life points. Kaiba screamed.

"My Blue-Eyes White Dragons...!" Kaiba said, in a pathetic whisper. "Th-they just... just..."

"Your Blue-Eyes White Dragons were powerful," said the other Yugi, "but even weak cards can join together sometimes, and together, they can create an infinite power which can defeat any enemy!"

Kaiba could only whisper an "Uh... uh..." at this. Her teeth were gritted, face covered in cold sweat.

"It's over, Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. "I win! And for the loser, a penalty game! It's time for you to pay for your crimes!"

"W-wait... I..."

"Penalty game! Mind Crush!" said the other Yugi, a stylized eye glowing on her forehead, before Kaiba could even think of how to finish her sentence.

Kaiba's eyes widened. It felt like something exploded in her ribcage. She screamed.

"I've destroyed the part of your heart that was filled with evil!" said the other Yugi. "Goodbye, Kaiba!"

Kaiba was staring blankly, gaping at nothing in particular. Her gaze was unfocused.

"Awright! Yugi did it! She won!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

_Yugi..._ thought Ansei. _Or is it the other Yugi? No... It doesn't matter which one... You're not the scared little girl you once were!_

_I did it, Grandma!_ the other Yugi thought. _I beat Kaiba with your deck! Jounouchi, Ansei, Honda! Thank you for being here when I needed you..._ If it hadn't been for them, she wouldn't have made it this far.

"Way to go, Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Tch," said the security guard who had a gun to Jounouchi's head. "Mistress Kaiba...?"

_Now, gotta do something about these goons..._ thought Jounouchi. _But as long as he's got that gun... I can't put Ansei in danger... crap. Can't take on two of them alone…!_ Suddenly, she saw a person behind the guard. This person struck the guard upside the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Honda!" exclaimed Jounouchi, grinning. "You jerk! You survived after all!" She laughed in relief.

"Damn straight!" said Honda. "I wasn't gonna let a bunch of blocks flatten _me!_ " She punched another guard.

"Go, Honda!" said Ansei.

Jounouchi and Honda set to work on beating up the other guards. One of them grabbed a gun, pointing it at Jounouchi's head. "You little brat!" he said. "I'll kill you for this!"

"Jounouchi!" said Honda.

Jounouchi gulped. This was quite possibly the end of the line for her.

"That's enough! Let her go!" said a familiar high-pitched voice.

"M-Mistress Mokuno!" said the guard, suddenly frightened.

"I said that's enough! The game is over," Mokuno said.

"Y-yes ma'am," said the guard, lowering his gun. The other two guards did the same.

"Is that Kaiba's...?" asked Honda, voice trailing off.

"Yeah, her little sister!" said Jounouchi. "She's just as big a creep as the other one!"

"This 'creep' saved my life," said Honda. "I was locked in that room for a while, with the blocks dropping, until this kid turned them off and got me out!"

"Hmph!" said Mokuno. "Don't take it personally! I just owed Yugi a favor..." Suddenly, she noticed something.

"Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "You did it, Yugi!"

"Oh, Yugi!" exclaimed Ansei. Oh, thank goodness she had made it out of that duel alive!

"Good job!" said Honda. "Wish I could have been there!"

"Honda!" exclaimed the other Yugi.

Honda looked at her in confusion. "Is it just me, or does Yugi seem different…?" she asked.

"Yugi is Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

"Guys," said the other Yugi, "You were there for me... Thank you…"

"You bet!" said Ansei.

Giving the four one last look, Mokuno turned away, telling the security guards, "Let's go!"

"Mokuno..." said Ansei.

Mokuno looked toward him.

"Can you tell me something?" asked Ansei. "Why did Kaiba do all this? Why did she plan this revenge...?"

Mokuno looked down, as though to search for the proper words for what she wanted to say. Looking back up, she began her story.

"It all started with that chess game..." she said. "When my sister was ten and I was five, we had already lost our parents... Our mother died soon after I was born, and our father died in an accident when I was three… our relatives used up all our inheritance, then left us in an orphanage! I remember Setomi telling me, 'Mokuno, don't cry! I'll make a good life for us someday! Listen to me! If you show weakness, it's over! Don't trust _anyone!_ ' My sister was always saying that, but life at the orphanage wasn't all bad... Setomi taught me chess. We lived to play each day... but that time... when that picture was taken…"

She pulled out the picture of them playing chess. "That was the last time I saw my sister smile. Not long after that, she came to the orphanage to adopt an heir... Gaburieru Kaiba... Setomi knew she was the president of Kaiba Corporation, and a world grandmaster of chess. My sister challenged her – Gaburieru laughed, and said, 'What did you just say?' Setomi then said, 'If I beat you in chess, I want you to adopt me and my sister!' Gaburieru said, 'Heh, you're an interesting kid...' And Setomi won, by mimicking Gaburieru's previous opponents' strategies, only to alter them at key moments to win! And so our last name was changed to Kaiba... but the life we began that day was the opposite of what we had hoped for! That woman Kaiba was a monster. She put my sister into a special accelerated school program, and forced her to compete with her own daughter. Day in and day out, she forced them to study foreign languages, social studies, economics, game strategy... it was like endless torture... but what she didn't realize was that she wasn't creating an heir, she was creating a powerful enemy! Six years later, our sister had disappeared and Setomi took over Kaiba Corporation! And then, Gaburieru killed herself! If she hadn't beaten our mother at that game that day... maybe I would still have a sister... the way she used to be... maybe she wouldn't have forgotten how to smile..."

"Mokuno..." said the other Yugi. "Right now, Kaiba is picking up the pieces of her heart in the darkness..."

"Huh?!" asked Mokuno, confused. What did Yugi mean? She looked over at her sister. She was gaping blankly at nothing, eyes unfocused, still in her chair.

"She's reassembling the shattered puzzle of her heart!" said the other Yugi. "One piece at a time, with her own strength, so that this time she won't make any mistakes..."

Kaiba was in a dream-like state. She was suddenly ten again. She saw puzzle pieces on the floor. Some instinct told her that she needed to put these pieces together. She held one piece. She attempted to arrange the pieces so they would fit. Strange. Normally she did such things much quicker. Perhaps she had reverted in skill as well as age. Or perhaps this was a much harder puzzle than it seemed. Finally, a pair of pieces went together. She smiled, for what felt like the first time in forever. She could do this. She just needed to find a piece that would attach to one of these pieces. And she would need to repeat this process until finally everything clicked into place. It would be difficult without knowing what the end result was supposed to look like, but she had successfully completed much more difficult tasks in the past.

"Yugi..." said Mokuno. "My sister will come back, won't she...?"

"Yes..." said the other Yugi. "Someday... When she completes the puzzle... She will return..."

"I'll wait for you forever... I promise, big sister..." Mokuno said. She smiled, with a tear in her eye. They would finally be family again. She wouldn't be alone again. God, how much she missed having a sister who was actually a sister and not simply a background presence in her life...

The four walked outside.

"Hey Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "I just got a call from the hospital! Your grandma'a surgery went _great!_ They say she's the healthiest collectible card game player they've ever seen!"

"Grandma's okay!" exclaimed Yugi, grinning widely. Thank goodness! she thought.

"Isn't that great, Yugi?!" said Jounouchi.

"Yup!" said Yugi.

"I wanna go see her right away!" exclaimed Ansei.

"Let's all go to the hospital together!" exclaimed Honda.

"Boy, was it a long day, wasn't it?" asked Jounouchi. _Huh... come to think of it, she thought, when did Yugi change back to her usual self?_ Out loud, she asked Yugi, "Hey, Yugi... Are you..." She didn't know how to finish the question.

"Hm? What's up, Jounouchi?" asked Yugi.

Jounouchi smiled at Yugi. "Aww, it's nothing!" she said. It didn't matter. They were both her... Yugi was safe. Grandma was safe. That was all that mattered.

Yugi herself knew right away what Jounouchi tried to ask her. After all, today, for the first time, she could remember all the battles she and her other self fought together. It was a relief. She didn't have to be afraid of her other self anymore. She wouldn't have to keep the gaps in her memory a secret. And for that, she was grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the first instance where I include an aspect of the anime continuity in this fic. In the manga, during the flashback sequence, Mokuba says that Kaiba cheated at chess to win against Gozuburo. Thing is, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to cheat at chess and get away with it in real life, especially against someone as skilled as Gozuburo is supposed to be. In the anime, meanwhile, there is a more reasonable explanation. Namely, Kaiba imitates some of Gozuburo's previous opponents' strategies to get him to do something that Kaiba can counter, which in my book both makes more sense and is more impressive. Therefore, I went with the anime's explanation.
> 
> Also, you might have noticed something. For the most part, with a few exceptions, the characters I genderflipped were major characters in some capacity. You might have also noticed that I said "first" instance of including anime continuity. Let's just say, I'm also adapting some anime arcs. Why? I found a couple of anime arcs interesting, and wanted to adapt them in this fic. This is also why I'm foreshadowing Noah's existence.


	22. The Newcomer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new student at Yugi's school, Ryoko Bakura! She seems really sweet, but is she hiding a dark secret...?

It had been several weeks since Yugi and her newfound friends had survived an overly-elaborate revenge plot by Setomi Kaiba. Yugi was grateful that things had been so peaceful lately. The worst that had happened lately was simply low grades on tests. She overheard some girls talking amongst themselves.

"Hey, big news! Did you hear? Our class is getting a transfer student! And I hear she's supposed to be here today!"

"Wow, really?!"

"Did you see her?! What's she like?!"

"Oh, I saw her! She's really cute!"

_Hmm..._ Yugi thought. _A transfer student... and a cute one?_

"Here she is!" one of them excitedly whispered to another.

"Ahem!" said the teacher. The class quieted down. "Attention everyone, we have someone new joining our class today..." The new student, a girl with messy, voluminous white hair and big, brown eyes walked up to the board and wrote her name up on the blackboard.

Yugi leaned forward, putting her elbow on her desk and resting her chin on her hand.

"My name is Ryoko Bakura," said the new student. Her voice was extremely soft and pleasant. "Pleased to meet you..." Her voice trailed off. She seemed... sort of sad, despite her gentle smile and polite manners.

_Ryoko Bakura..._ Yugi thought. Her face turned mildly pink. Why did this girl sound so sad? Yugi had to find out. She wasn't the sort to let a problem that she could potentially help solve go unsolved. Besides, all those girls were right. She _was_ cute.

"Now, where should we have you sit..." the teacher muttered. "Ah, next to Jounouchi is open." _Yes!_ Yugi thought. She would have an easier time to get the opportunity to talk to her!

"That's me! Over here!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Eww!" said one of the girls. "Be careful, Bakura!"

"Don't let her pollute you!" said another.

"Me, _pollute_ her?! Why I oughta – "

Bakura ignored the girls and sat next to Jounouchi. "Nice to meet you, Jounouchi!" she said, smiling.

"Yo, same here!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "Let's be friends, huh?"

Bakura smiled.

"Bakura, these are my buds!" said Jounouchi.

Yugi quickly introduced herself, followed by Honda and Ansei. She hadn't been this excited to introduce herself in a long time.

"Nice to meet you!" said Bakura.

They spoke for a while.

"Wow, Yugi, your family runs a game store?" asked Bakura, impressed. Who knew she would make not one, not two, but four friends her first day of school?

"Do you like games, Bakura?" asked Yugi.

"Yes, very much!" exclaimed Bakura.

Yugi grinned. A cute girl who also liked games? This was almost too good to be true!

"I especially like board games and tabletop games..." continued Bakura. "My favorite is a game called Monster World. Have you heard of it?"

"Wow!" said Yugi. "Monster World!"

"What kind of game is Monster World?" asked Jounouchi.

"Monster World is a combination board game and role-playing game!" explained Yugi. "You know, like Hobgoblin, or Dungeons and Dragons! One person plays the Dark Master and the monsters, and the other people play a group of adventurers. Together, they act out a story using miniatures on a playing field. The Dungeon Master, DM for short, wins if they defeat the adventuring party. The adventurers win if they beat the Dungeon Master. They're sort of like the boss monster of the game."

"I'm impressed," said Bakura. "You know a lot about games!"

"Naah," said Yugi.

"That sounds like fun!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "How about we all play Monster World tomorrow?"

"Uh... o-okay..." said Bakura, smile fading. She looked sad again. _Huh?_ thought Yugi. _Bakura doesn't really seem into it..._ What was wrong? Was Monster World connected to the reason Bakura seemed so sad earlier?

"Um, by the way..." said Bakura, turning towards Yugi. "There's something I've been wondering about... where did you get that pendant, Yugi?"

"Oh, this?" asked Yugi. "It's called the Millennium Puzzle! It came from the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh!"

"Wow, can I see it?" asked Bakura. After Yugi gave permission, she lifted it to examine it. "Actually, I also – ow!" she said, clutching her chest.

"What's wrong, Bakura?" asked Yugi, concerned.

"Uh... no... it's nothing..." she said. "Here's this back..." _What's wrong with me?_ wondered Bakura. _My chest hurt all of a sudden..._

"Hey, Jounouchi!" said a girl, interrupting Bakura's thoughts.

"Don't hog Bakura all to yourself!" said another.

"Hey cutie! Let us show you around the school!"

_Oh no,_ Bakura thought. It was like that often. Girls would give her attention they didn't seem to give anyone else, and she didn't know what to do with it. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in girls. It was that the attention was _overwhelming._ She preferred the company of her new friends. They treated her like a normal person.

"Girls like Bakura have all the luck!" complained Jounouchi.

"Bakura seems like a nice girl!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "She'll be a good friend!"

_We'll have to play Monster World together sometime!_ thought Yugi.

Out in the hallway...

"There's the bathroom!" said one girl.

"This is the music room!" said another.

"Uh-huh. I see..." said Bakura.

"And next is..." said another girl. Bakura began to tune her out. _I'm not good with people..._ she thought.

"Hey, you!" said a teacher. "You think you can just walk around the halls when you're supposed to be in class?"

"Uh-oh..." said one of the girls. "It's Ms. Karita, the P.E. Teacher!"

"Hmph," said Ms. Karita. "You're the new kid who just transferred in, aren't you... I hear you had some problems at your last school... However, there's rules at Domino High School, young lady! Listen, Miss Popular! If you don't start staying in class like you're supposed to, it's a crew cut for you!" She walked off.

"She's awful!" said one of the girls.

"Are you okay, Bakura?" asked another.

"Yes... I'm... I'm fine," said Bakura. "I'm sorry, but could I be alone for a while?"

"Sure, sure," said a third girl.

Bakura walked off into the restroom. She rinsed off her face at the sink. _What's wrong with me?_ she wondered. _My chest keeps hurting... Ever since I touched Yugi's pendant..._

Her thoughts were interrupted by laughter seemingly out of nowhere. She turned around. No one was there. _That's strange,_ Bakura thought. _I thought I heard someone... am I crazy?_ Looking down, she untied her bow and unbuttoned her shirt a bit. _That pendant of Yugi's... it looks so similar to my pendant,_ she thought. Her pendant resembled a ring, with a triangle shape in the middle and with five spikes attached. She kept it under her shirt because she found that people asked too many questions when they saw it. Yet, something compelled her to keep the pendant on at all costs...

After school that day, Bakura was walking through the school gates when she heard Yugi calling her name.

"Hi, you guys!" Bakura said, turning around.

"I was talking to everybody, and they'd love to play Monster World tomorrow!" said Yugi. "What do you think? Can we go to your place? If not, we could go to my house."

Bakura looked down.

"You don't want to...?" asked Yugi. _That solemn, forlorn look again,_ she thought.

"No, that's not it!" protested Bakura. "I want to play the game with all of you! The thing is... at my last school, I used to get together with my friends to play role-playing games... but when I do, a strange thing would happen. People who played games with me would _lose consciousness._ They're still in a coma in the hospital... you may not believe me, but it's true..."

Yugi was shocked. That sounded eerily close to what her other self used to do...

"That sort of thing kept happening, so people started avoiding me..." said Bakura. "That's why I kept changing schools. Bow I'm living in an apartment by myself, away from my family... I want to be friends with you! And I want to play games, but... I made a decision... I don't want to lose any more friends... so you shouldn't get too close to me..." Walking off, she said, "Well... I'll see you..."

"Ah! Bakura!" Yugi cried out, vainly reaching out to her. People going into comas because of a game? That was all too familiar...

That night, Bakura was in her room, writing a letter to her dead brother, Amanu. It was her coping mechanism for his death. _Dear Amanu, How is school? How are Mother and Father? I've started in new school today. I've been here a little while now. It's the very first day I have had friends. They asked to play Monster World in my apartment. Hopefully I can take a new step forward._ Suddenly, she heard the laughter again. She turned around. That voice again!

Now, it said something. _So, you can hear my voice now, can you?_

"Who's there?!" Bakura cried out, scared. What the - ?

_I guess from now on, I'll be able to_ speak _with my host. Truly a day to remember! H-ha ha ha! And yes... something else worth remembering! I've finally met_ her! _The other girl with a Millennium Item... after 3000 years... the Millennium Items must be resonating with each other to produce some kind of field... and that's why you can hear me now..._

"Who are you?!" asked Bakura. She didn't care who heard her. She was scared out of her mind and just wanted this voice out of her head!

_Who am I? I've been with you for a long time... hiding within you... and within the pendant you've been wearing, the Millennium Ring..._

"The Millennium Ring?!" asked Bakura. "You mean this pendant? She attempted to take it off, to no avail.

The voice in her head laughed maniacally. _Now you can't take it off,_ the voice said. _Because of you, I've finally found the bearer of the Millennium Puzzle... I've decided to keep you as my permanent host!_

"Get out!" Bakura shouted. "Get out of my head!"

_Now, now,_ said the voice. _Don't be so cold. Believe me when I say, it feels good to have a body again! And instead of paying rent, I grant your wishes! Why, I've granted them almost every day..._

"Huh?!" asked Bakura. What was the voice going on about?

_Didn't you think this when you were playing those games? "How fun this is!" "I wish I could play games with my friends forever!" I granted that wish for you!_

"Wh-what are you talking about... you can't mean those..."

_Well, you'll realize soon enough... in any case, this is my chance to get my hands on the Millennium Puzzle! If I let this opportunity go by, I don't know how long I'll have to wait for another one... the Millennium Items are relics that can house souls from the past, like memorial stones or portable tombs... however... if there is a guardian of the tomb... there must also be a thief to rob the tomb! H-ha ha ha!_

Bakura wasn't sure what the voice was going on about. "House souls from the past?" "A thief to rob the tomb?" Did the voice think the Items as graves, and itself as a graverobber?

The next day, after school, Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda were talking in front of an apartment building.

"Bakura didn't come to school today," said Yugi.

"This is the apartment where she lives!" said Jounouchi. "We all know what the plan is, right? Bakura must be staying at home, down in the dumps!"

"Yup!" said Yugi.

"Lucky for her, Bakura's our friend! We're going to go play games until we prove that those people going into comas was just a coincidence!"

"Say, Jounouchi!" said Ansei. "Did you hear that Ms. Karita was taken to the hospital in a coma? Isn't that weird?"

"That stupid P.E. Teacher?! Serves her right!" said Jounouchi.

Eventually, they made their way to Apartment 601, which was labelled with the last name Bakura.

"Wup! This is it!" said Yugi. She rang the doorbell. It opened with a "click!", revealing Bakura inside.

"Yes...?" she asked. Who would be going to her door at this time? She hadn't ordered anything online recently...

"Yo!" a familiar voice exclaimed. The voice was Jounouchi. She, Yugi, Ansei, and Honda were in the doorway, smiling.

"Y-Yugi! Guys..." Bakura said. She was panicking. They probably came over to play Monster World. They would end up playing because Bakura didn't know how to say no, and then she would black out, and when she did regain consciousness her newfound friends would be in comas. She _couldn't_ let that happen! Not again!

"We came over to play with you, Bakura!" said Jounouchi.

"Let's all play Monster World together!" said Yugi.

Bakura's worst fears had been confirmed.

"No!" she shouted. "Get out of – "

"– the hall and come on in! I'm so glad you all could make it... right this way!" Bakura had blacked out mid-sentence, and the spirit of the Millennium Ring had taken over, finishing her sentence on a very different note than she had originally intended.

"Don't mind if I do!" said Jounouchi, oblivious to what had happened. "Sorry we didn't call ahead."

Yugi was silent. Did Bakura's expression change all of a sudden? she thought. Her face seemed a lot more... sinister. And it wasn't just her expression that changed. Her hair was even messier than before, and her voice sounded deeper and more menacing.

_Phew, that was close,_ thought the other Bakura. _Don't be rude, my host... It would be rude to turn away your friends after they've come over to play... H-ha ha ha..._ "I had this feeling you would come over!" she said. "You're my friends, after all..."

"I wish _I_ had an apartment like this all to myself!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"I've already got the game set up!" said the other Bakura.

The five entered a room in the apartment. On the table was an elaborate three-dimensional map of some fantasy land.

"Monster World, the adventure board game!" exclaimed the other Bakura. "This is my custom battle board!"

"Wow, cool!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Now, let's do some role-playing!" said the other Bakura. _Or should I say... a Shadow Game?_ she added in her head. _H-ha ha ha!_

"Wow, I can't wait to play!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Me too, Yugi..." said the other Bakura, all too aware of the irony. She had led many others into this exact trap. Yet, the results were always so predictable, as if they were unaware that the story and characters were designed in such a way that their fates, unable to be rewritten, would all be the same: an eternity of stasis, doing the same things over and over again, in slight variations, yet always ending the same way.


	23. Pens and Paper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Monster World campaign has begun, but things go wrong when the group encounter a mysterious NPC, who is not all she seems to be...

"Well, are you ready to start playing?" asked the other Bakura.

"Yeah!" said the other four.

_Yugi..._ thought the other Bakura. _I'll win this Shadow Game... and I'll take your Millennium Puzzle!_

"Bakura's taking the part of the game master in an RPG!" said Yugi.

"'Role-playing game'?" asked Ansei. "You mean like a video game?"

"Video role-playing games are more common today," said Yugi, "But the _original_ role-playing games were played around a table."

"That's right!" said the other Bakura. "And do you know the true meaning of role-playing?" she asked. 

"Huh?" asked Jounouchi.

"Playing a role!" said the other Bakura. "You have to _become_ the character!" _Not unlike what I'm doing right now,_ she thought. "By getting inside the mind of the character and acting out your part, the players can enter an imaginary world! It's the _original_ virtual reality! That is the true beauty of this game!"

_Bakura seems different from yesterday,_ Yugi thought.

"Before we can play, everyone needs to create their characters!" said the other Bakura.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Jounouchi. This was so cool! She got to make her character however she wanted! Not like in video games, which had limited, if any customization!

"Fill in your data on these character sheets," instructed the other Bakura.

"See, we each choose a race from this list!" said Yugi. "Your race determines your basic abilities."

"Which should I be..." Jounouchi murmured to herself.

"Maybe I'll be a half-elf..." said Yugi.

"Once you've decided on your race, next you'll need to choose your class," said the other Bakura.

"Yeah! I gotta be a warrior!" exclaimed Jounouchi. She remembered pretending to be a great and mighty warrior as a little kid.

"A magic gunman doesn't sound bad either!" said Honda. She enjoyed firing guns down at the range, and always imagined herself as a mage when in fantasy settings. She got to combine both!

_Choose carefully,_ thought the other Bakura. _You'll be playing that character for longer than you think... A lot longer! H-ha ha ha..._

"Awright, we finished making our characters!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Hmm..." murmured the other Bakura, examining the character sheets. "Very good... And you rolled your ability scores fair and square..." Out loud, she said, "Okay! Let me put the final touches on your miniatures!"

Yugi's character, named Yuki, was a half-elf beast tamer, with no weapons, equipped with a cloak. Her speed was 17, wisdom was 18, strength was 9, and courage was 18. She had 22 hit points.

Jounouchi's character was a human warrior named Josephine, or "Jo" for short. She was equipped with a short sword, leather armor, and a leather shield. Her stats were a 16 in speed, 8 in wisdom, 20 in strength, and a 21 in courage. She had 25 hit points.

Ansei's character was an elf magician named Theodore, nicknamed "Ted". He had a staff, cloak, and hat. He had 20 speed, 17 wisdom, 9 strength, 14 courage, and 18 hit points.

Honda's character, named Trista, was a human magic gunman (or, you know, gunwoman, but Honda didn't care). She had a magic gun (where'd she purchase that?), magic bullets, and a cloak. Her stats were 18 speed, 10 wisdom, 14 strength, 19 courage, and 23 hit points.

"Wow," said Jounouchi. You made these figures look just like us!"

"Yes," said the other Bakura. "I pride my games on my attention to detail. I'll enter your character data into the computer for reference. These numbers will make all the difference when you get into a life-or-death fight! As the Game Master, I make the crucial rolls!" After typing all the data into the computer, the other Bakura said, "All right, it's all ready! Place your pieces on 'Start'!"

"Let the adventure begin!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Let's do it, guys!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Game start!" announced the other Bakura.

"Huh?" asked Yugi, confused.

"What the – Where are the other pieces?!" asked Jounouchi. "There's not a single enemy monster!"

"One of the facets of the game is that you don't know where the enemy monsters are hiding!" explained the other Bakura. "The monsters will appear depending on the players' actions... or sometimes by random chance!"

"Come to think, we don't know much about this world!" said Jounouchi.

"Like who's the enemy or what's the point of the game!" added Honda.

_You're more right than you think,_ thought the other Bakura.

"The town!" said Ansei. "You go to a town to get information in an RPG, don't you?"

"Ansei's right!" said Yugi. "Let's go to the town first!"

"Very good!" said the other Bakura. "You take five turns to enter the village..." She flipped over a set of tiles to reveal a town, complete with a tavern.

"Wow!" exclaimed Yugi. "You take off the village model, and there are people inside!"

"Okay!" said Jounouchi. "Let's pull up to the bar and get some news! Hey, you! Old man! As you can see, we're highly skilled adventurers! Any way for us to make some dough?"

"You start with _money?_ " Honda muttered. This wasn't going well.

"At those words, the villager sends a glance your way and sighs as she speaks," said the other Bakura. Putting on her best "old woman" voice, she said, "If money could solve our problems, I'd give you all I've got... but before you could claim your reward, you'd be dead!" Returning to her normal voice, she said, "With that, the old woman moves away from the bar..."

"Hey, hold on there, old-timer!" said Jounouchi. "Sounds like you got a story! We're all ears!"

The other Bakura said, "Hearing those words, the old woman opens her mouth and says in a heavy tone, 'Until a few years ago, this village was peaceful... but then the dark lord Zorc assassinated the king and changed the castle into a den of evil! After that, monsters began appearing in our peaceful valley. Many of my fellow villagers have fallen prey to them.'"

"What?!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "They can't get away with that! Awright, dude! We'll take care of Zorc! So let's see some gold pieces! Cough 'em up!"

"How mean," muttered Honda.

"This game brings out your inner bad side," said Yugi.

"Hey, Yugi," said Ansei. "Is there a speaker in there? It sounds like the old woman's really talking..."

"No, no," said Yugi. "In a tabletop RPG, characters other than the adventurers are acted out by the Game Master. They're called non-player characters.'"

"Then Bakura must be throwing her voice..." said Ansei.

The aforementioned game master threw Ansei a glare before continuing.

"'Hear me, adventurers! Before you start on your journey, you should talk to that woman in the corner... she can tell you the safest route to Zorc's castle!'" Sure enough, there was a figurine of a woman in the corner of the model of the tavern.

"Hey!" said Jounouchi.

The figurine itself seemed to say, "Huh?"

Laughing, Jounouchi exclaimed, "Look at that villager figure! She looks just like Karita from gym!"

The figurine seemed to say, "I-it's you! Jounouchi! Honda!"

"Hey, did you just call my name?" Jounouchi asked Honda.

"No!" Honda said. Sounding a bit more frightened, she asked "You did, right?"

The figurine seemed to say, "Save me, you guys! She made me into a miniature!"

"Huh," said Ansei. "Did that figure just talk?"

"Duh! As if!" said Jounouchi, although if she were to be honest, it was more to convince herself of its impossibility than Ansei.

The figurine seemed to let out an "Eep..." as the other Bakura glared down at it.

_You are no longer a teacher or even the woman called Karita..._ the other Bakura thought. _I made you an eternal inhabitant of this game world. Now play your part... You will act the role of Villager D forever!_

The figurine seemed to stutter, or perhaps it was Bakura throwing her voice extremely well. Whoever it was, she said, "Z-Zorc's castle... is to the north... outside the village... b-but stay out of the forest... it's full of monsters..."

"Okay, got it!" said Jounouchi. "Let's skip town and start hacking!"

_That villager miniature seemed like it was really talking... almost like it was alive..._ thought Yugi.

_H-ha ha ha!_ thought the other Bakura. _Let Ms. Karita's fate foreshadow your own!_ After all, all of this world was a stage, and the people, players in this story that she created.

"Okay, now we know our mission! We head for Zorc's castle!" said Jounouchi. "Let's roll! Don't stop for anything!"

"All right," said the other Bakura. "You've just entered an area where there's a danger of a random encounter... from now on, there's a judgement roll every turn to determine if monsters will appear!"

"10-sided dice...!" said Jounouchi.

"I've never seen dice like that before..." said Honda.

"The area you're in right now has a monster encounter rate of 30%!" explained the other Bakura. "The roll is done with two 10-sided dice! The white one is the ones column and the red one is the tens column, so you get a number between zero and 99! I make the roll!" The other Bakura rolled the dice. "The judgement roll is 21! That's lower than 30. That means that a monster appears! A level 3 goblin!"

Jounouchi laughed. "We found a monster!"

"I was getting bored waiting for a fight!" said Yugi.

"Awwright!" said Jounouchi. "Dog pile!"

"All of the battles are decided with these 10-sided dice!" said the other Bakura. "Now, you go first! Take your shot!"

"Okay! The warrior rolls!" said Jounouchi.

The number was a 13.

"Based on the warrior's level, speed, and weapon, I calculate that the warrior's short sword kills the goblin on a roll of 40 or less!"

"Yahoo!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"The closer you roll to double-zero, the more damage you do to the enemy!" said the other Bakura. _But on the other hand, if you roll a fumble, a 99, you have to take a penalty, the penalty to become a miniature in my game world... for the rest of your lives! H-ha ha ha!_ she added mentally. Out loud, she said, "Suddenly you stop as, up ahead, you see someone lying across your path!"

"Look at that!" said Jounouchi. "That chick's passed out!"

"Without coming closer," said the other Bakura, "you can't tell much about the prostrate figure lying before you... is she alive? Is she dead? You can find out... or you can move on without her! What do you do?"

"I feel sorry for her, let's help!" said Ansei.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Yugi.

"Okay! Leave it to me!" said Jounouchi. "First I'll poke her with my sword!"

"The warrior prods the strange person with her sword," said the other Bakura. "Oh... she moves slightly... it appears to be a young woman. She looks at you and seems very afraid."

From what little of the figurine's face could be seen, it seemed to look like Bakura.

"Hey, you!" said Jounouchi. "We're not your enemy! Nothin' to be scared of!"

"Please help me! A monster attacked me in the forest and stole my treasure!" Now at this point it was becoming very clear that either Bakura had an _impressive_ vocal range, or something was up with the figurines.

"Treasure?!" asked Jounouchi.

"'I was on my way to give it to the hero of the village!' says the woman. 'That treasure is a holy sword! It is the only thing that can defeat Zorc!"

"A sword that can beat Zorc?!" asked Jounouchi.

"'Please! I beg you!' says the NPC. 'Get back the treasure!'" said the other Bakura. "Do you respond to the young woman's request...?"

"But that villager told us to stay away from the forest," said Ansei.

"She's talking about treasure here!" Jounouchi countered.

"I don't know," said Yugi. "Can it really be that easy to find a sword that'll defeat Zorc?" _That young woman is a non-player character prepared by the Dark Master. She could be our ally, or our enemy... hmm... what should we do..._

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "Take us to the forest!"

"'Thank you very much! I'll come with you!' says the woman. You heed the young woman's plea and head for the forest!" The other Bakura flipped over a part of the board to reveal the aforementioned forest. "The shadowy green leaves rise around you! This area has a monster encounter rate of 80%!" she said. "Judgement roll!"

She rolled the dice.

"05! Not a good roll for you! The closer to 00, the stronger the monsters that appear! Five monsters emerge from the trees!"

"Let's get 'em!" said Jounouchi.

"Straight into battle!" said the other Bakura. "The players attack first!"

"Okay! I get the first swing!" said Jounouchi. She rolled the dice.

"82!" announced the other Bakura. "Bad luck! Jounouchi needed to roll a 30 or less to hit Beega! Not only does she miss, she trips and falls!"

"That sucks!" said Honda. "Let me handle this one!" She rolled the dice.

"21!" said the other Bakura. "Very good! A hit!"

"You did it!" said Yugi.

"One monster is down!" said the other Bakura.

One of the monsters, a Poki, seemed to growl.

"Next is my turn!" said Yugi. She rolled the dice.

"25!" she said.

"The beast tamer can touch one monster with her magic hands and make them into an ally!" said the other Bakura. "Hand power brainwashing has a success rate of 50%! You succeed!"

"Okay! I choose you!" said Yugi, indicating the Poki. "The evil has disappeared from Poki! He's now our ally!"

"There's still three monsters left!" said the other Bakura.

"I'll take it from here!" said Ansei. He rolled the dice.

"00!" said the other Bakura. "That's amazing! That's a super critical hit! That means he can use the top level magic for an apprentice magician!"

"Wow! You blew away three monsters!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Right on, Ansei!" said Jounouchi.

"So that's what a super critical hit can do!" said Ansei.

"Awright!" said Jounouchi. "Let's keep going!"

Yugi and Jounouchi could have sworn they heard a "H-ha ha ha..." from the cloaked figurine. It happened again, much louder.

"So you are the four heroes who would defy me..." said the figurine... no, Bakura... or was it the figurine? "You fell for my trap and entered the forest of the dead... this will be your grave!"

"Who in the world are you?!" asked Yugi.

"What's this?!" said the other Bakura. "The young woman's form changes and grows before your eyes! For she is none other than the Dark Master Zorc!"

Jounouchi and Yugi looked on in shock. This was no imagining on anyone's part. The figurine had transformed before them.

"'I am the wings of ruin. I am the breath of despair. I am the fell dragon, Zorc!'" said the other Bakura. "The players, completely deceived by his lies, are caught with their defenses down! Therefore, Zorc gets to take the first attack! His success is determined by this roll!" She rolled the dice.

"00! Super critical hit!" said the other Bakura. "Zorc's shadow power assaults the players! And his target is you! Ansei!" She announced her attack as "Mind doll!"

Ansei's gaze went blank, unfocused. He slumped forward onto the table.

"Ansei!" said Yugi. "What's wrong, Ansei?!"

_One down!_ thought the other Bakura. _His soul is in the miniature! With my godlike game mastering techniques, I can roll criticals whenever I want! You're next, Yugi!_

"Er... huh...?! Where am I...?" Ansei's vision had briefly went dark, and the next thing he knew... the world had gotten bigger? Or perhaps he had shrunk? Either way, the results were the same. He was standing on the board he had been sitting at, with his friends surrounding the board, and his head felt a lot heavier.

"He's out cold!" said Honda. "Maybe he fainted from the excitement!"

Indeed, Ansei saw his own body, slumped forward on the table. It was a strange sight.

The other Bakura chuckled in her own mind.

"Bakura! What did you do to Ansei?!" asked Yugi.

"What did _I_ do...?" the other Bakura asked, with a sense of false innocence. "I'm the game master. I just followed the rules to keep the game going... but just to let you know... the game you're playing right now is the _ultimate_ in role-playing games!"

_The_ ultimate _role-playing game?!_ thought Jounouchi. Bakura's tone had sounded malicious.

"I told you, didn't I? In role-playing games, you have to _become_ the characters... you transcend reality to become the people of an imaginary world and live the adventure that unfolds!"

"Bakura!" Jounouchi snapped. "I'm _asking_ you what you did to Ansei!"

"Don't worry," said Bakura. "Ansei is alive! In Monster World..."

Ansei looked around. _W-what is going on...?!_ he thought. He looked up. "Why is everyone so big?!" he finally managed to say out loud. He looked down silently. _No way...!_ he thought. _I've been turned into a miniature!_ Despite having no mouth, he managed to scream.

"I _wasn't_ hearing things!" said Jounouchi. "The magician figure just screamed! In Ansei's voice!" It couldn't have been Bakura. She may have been able to pull off a deep voice for a girl, but her voice could not be able to sound _exactly_ like Ansei!

"Ansei!" yelled Yugi.

"Yugi! Help! All of you!" pled Ansei.

"It's like I said," said the other Bakura. "In this game, the player's fate is entirely decided by the roll of the dice. When the Dark Master Zorc's attack is a super critical hit, or if the player rolls a fumble, they player's soul will be sealed into their figurine by the shadow power!"

_Shadow power..._ thought Yugi. _Bakura... you..._

"The only way to retrieve his soul is to defeat the dark master Zorc!" said the other Bakura.

"I'm gonna do it!" said Jounouchi. "Zorc, die!" She rolled the dice.

_Oh shit..._ Jounouchi thought. _Oh no... 99... a fumble..._

The other Bakura cleared her throat. "It wasn't your turn to attack! Not only is your _roll_ the worst possible, but so is your gaming etiquette, Jounouchi!" The other Bakura pointed at Jounouchi. "To roll without the game master's permission is to break the rules of the game! Prepare yourself!"

Jounouchi's eyes widened. Her eyes went blank and unfocused, and she slumped at the table like Ansei before her.

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi. _No way,_ she thought.

When Jounouchi's vision returned to normal, something was up. She looked down. "Wh-what the?!" she cried out.

"Jounouchi, not you too!" said Ansei. His voice came from behind Jounouchi and to her left.

"Ansei!" said Jounouchi.

"Yugi, what should we do?!" asked Honda.

"Think before you act, Yugi..." said the other Bakura. "If you and Honda become miniatures as well, there won't be anyone left to roll the dice. If _that_ happens, then the game is automatically over! You four players will be trapped in this world forever... until the next time I use you in a game!"

Yugi let out a growl as the other Bakura laughed.

"There's no choice!" said Ansei. "We have to fight!"

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "Roll the dice in our place!"

"Very good!" said the other Bakura. "Continue the game! The magic gunner can attack Zorc on the next turn!"

"You mean me!" said Honda.

"There's one more thing!" said the other Bakura. "On your turn, you might be frozen in fear by Zorc's powerful aura! For that, we have to check the magic gunner's courage score! You must roll the dice. If you roll less than 70, then you conquer your fear and can go first... if you fail, Zorc makes the first move! Now, roll! Let the dice fall where they may!"

"You gotta be kidding! _Me,_ afraid?!" Gulping, Honda shook her hand to start rolling the dice. "I'm not afraid of you! My hand is shaking with _anger,_ Bakura!"

"That's for the dice to say," said the other Bakura.

"Go for it, Honda!" said Yugi.

"Right!" said Honda. She rolled the dice.

"94! This roll is stupid! I'm not scared of Zorc!" Honda yelled indignantly.

The other Bakura laughed. "There is no 'you'... there is only your _character!_ The magic gunner is frozen in fear. She curses herself for her cowardice!"

"You dirty...!" said Honda.

"Zorc wins the initiative!" said the other Bakura.

Honda growled.

"Shadow power! Attack roll!" said the other Bakura.

"What?!" cried Yugi. _Super critical! No way! That means that Zorc has rolled two super criticals in a row!_ Out loud, she said, "Bakura! What did you do to the dice?!"

"The dice don't lie," said the other Bakura.

Honda let out a "Ggh..." as she realized what was about to happen to her. She, like Ansei and Jounouchi, had a blank, unfocused expression as she slumped onto the table.

The other Bakura laughed as the Honda figurine looked at its own hands.

"Honda!" said Jounouchi.

"No..." said Honda. "Damn it! Believe me, I _wasn't_ afraid!"

"No! Honda!" Yugi cried out. She looked directly at Bakura, and glared the best she could.

"Well, Yugi!" said the other Bakura. "You're the only one left!"

Yugi gulped.

"Now you must roll the dice and move the pieces all on your own!" said the other Bakura. "And before I forget–! If the characters' hit points reach zero, they will die! Not just in the game! In the real world! So be careful with the lives of your friends." She laughed.

"You can do it, Yugi!" said Ansei.

"Yeah! Kill him!" said Honda.

_Guys!_ Yugi thought.

"The battle continues!" said the other Bakura. "The magic gunner gets one more chance to attack Zorc! Yugi! Throw the dice!"

Yugi had an idea.

"Before that, Bakura! Transfer my soul to my miniature, too!"

The other Bakura's eyes widened. "Wha... what...?!" She could not believe what she was hearing. "What did you just say...? You _want_ to become a miniature?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I altered the names for the characters' characters. In the original manga, everyone's character had the same name as their player, except for Jounouchi, who had named his character Joey, as a reference to the dub. To be a bit more creative, I extended this to include Honda and Ansei's characters, who along with Jounouchi's have their names be gender-flipped versions of their dub names. These names are going to be used in an upcoming fic.
> 
> As for where I got Ted from, I once learned that the name Téa is a corrupted, shorted version of Theodora. The masculine version of that name is Theodore. I would have gone with Teddy (having remembered that Theodore Roosevelt had the nickname Teddy), except that sounded silly. But then I realized that it could be further shortened to Ted. Which is an overly-elaborate thought process for what basically amounts to removing an accent mark and replacing a letter.
> 
> As for Yugi's character, I was originally considering naming fem!Yugi Yuki. However, I wanted to keep the meaning of Yugi's name, so I looked up feminine Japanese names meaning "game". As it turned out, however, I couldn't find any, and indeed, Yugi isn't even a real-life name! So I kept Yugi's technically gender-neutral non-name the same, and called her character Yuki instead.
> 
> Also, fun fact! Yu-Gi-Oh means "Game King." Originally, I would have called it "Yu-Gi-Ou-Jo," except that "Oujo" means "princess." Meanwhile, "Ōhi" means "queen," which fits better as a direct feminine equivalent of King. From there, it was just a slight alteration of the spelling to get "Yu-Gi-Ou-Hi".


	24. The Strange Case of Miss Ryoko and the Other Bakura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems as if Yugi has given up on winning the game, but when her soul is sealed in a figurine, the other Yugi continues the game! Meanwhile, it seems like Bakura is not so different from Yugi...

"Yugi?!" said Honda. If she still had pores, sweat would have formed on her face.

"What are you doing?!" asked Jounouchi. Was Yugi insane?! Was she suicidal?! No, wait, suicidal wasn't the word. This was a fate worse than death she was subjecting herself to! Anyone trapped in a figurine for all time would prefer death to that!

"I'll fight together with my friends on the board!" said Yugi. "If they're putting their lives on the line, then so will I!"

Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda looked up at Yugi in shock.

"Yugi..." said the other Bakura. "It would be easy to grant that wish... but if you, the last player, become a miniature, who will throw the dice?"

_The other me!_ thought Yugi, furrowing her brows in determination.

"Ah, well..." said the other Bakura. "The game master is supposed to be of service to the players... very well! I'll do as you say!" Pointing at Yugi, the other Bakura said, "With this, it's game over!"

Yugi's expression went blank, gaze unfocused. The next thing she knew, she was on the board, as a miniature, alongside her friends.

"Yugi!" said Ansei.

The other Bakura laughed. "All the players have been turned into lead figurines!" she exclaimed. "This is a perfect victory for me, the game master..."

Her eyes suddenly widened when she saw the most shocking sight in her life.

Yugi had not, in fact, slumped over like the others. If anything, her posture seemed to have _improved,_ along with her now-sharp-looking gaze, and half her bangs now sticking up. Her arms were crossed in front of her.

_What?!_ she thought.

"We were in the middle of a battle, weren't we?" said this... _other..._ Yugi that was now standing – er, sitting – in front of her. "I'm rolling! The magic gunner draws a bead on Zorc!"

The other Yugi rolled.

"03! I hit!" she said.

"Thunder grenade!" said Honda.

Zorc screamed.

"You got him!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"I told you, horn face," said Honda. "With my friends helping me out, who'd be afraid?"

"Don't worry, guys!" said the other Yugi. "Your lives are in my hands! And starting now, so is Zorc's!"

"Nice shootin'!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "The magic gunner's attack hit dead on! She blasted off Zorc's left hand!

Yugi looked up. "So that is... the other me. This is the first time we've met..." If she still had blood vessels, she would have blushed at the sight of this prettier, more confident person gazing down at her so warmly.

"Yes!" said the other Yugi. "That courage brought us together! You put your life on the line to fight with your friends!"

"Yup!" said Yugi.

_So you're the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle,_ thought the other Bakura. _My opposite number._ There was something poetic about this, meeting one's equal and opposite. It had been so long since she had met someone so equally skilled at her games.

_I must save my friends!_ thought the other Yugi. _To do that, I have to defeat Zorc and release their souls from the miniatures they're trapped in!_

"Let's get on with the game!" said the other Bakura.

"So, 'other Yugi'!" said the other Bakura. "From now on, you'll throw the dice and control the entire adventuring team! But if the player characters' hit points reach zero, your friends' souls and bodies will die!"

The other Yugi glared at the other Bakura.

"I can't die looking like this!" said Jounouchi.

"Let's all believe in Yugi, guys!" said Ansei.

_The outcome of this game will be decided by the dice!_ thought the other Yugi. _I have to put an end to Bakura's technique of rolling criticals!_ It was time to fight fire with fire, so to speak.

"It's a new round!" announced the other Bakura. "The battle continues! Although Zorc lost his hand when his guard was down, he actually looks almost _uninjured!_ You could even say things have gotten _worse_ for the adventurers..."

Jounouchi and Yugi looked down at the ground in front of them in alarm. Zorc's dismembered hand floated upward.

"It's mutating!" yelled Jounouchi.

"Any piece of my flesh cut from my body transforms into a monster under my command!" said Zorc. And indeed, the hand had turned into a dragon and a strange, spherical, spiked creature with a single eye.

The dragon made a sound that almost sounded like laughing.

"Kill them!" ordered Zorc. He then turned around and started walking.

"Are you running away, Zorc?" asked Yugi. "Fight us here!"

"I have a special place prepared for our duel together!" said Zorc. "Make your way to my castle while the fires of hatred still burn in your heart! If you can, that is!" He laughed as he made his way to his castle.

"Jerk! Creepy! Power gamer!" Jounouchi yelled ineffectually. "We'll get to Zorc Castle no matter what it takes! You're going down!"

"We're playing right into Bakura's script!" said Yugi. "We really are stuck in her game world!"

"You're right!" said the other Yugi. "Bakura made Zorc appear when the adventurers' guard was down. Then she was able to seal your souls into lead figures! Everything's gone according to plan! She's a game master to watch out for!"

"And when Bakura rolls the dice, she always gets a critical!" said Yugi. "Is there any way we can win?"

"There is!" said the other Yugi.

"Warrior! It's your turn to attack!" said the other Bakura.

"Let me at 'im, Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

"Now, Yugi! Roll the dice!" said the other Bakura. "But don't forget! If you roll a fumble, that character will die!"

The other Yugi smirked. She had a plan.

"Go!" she said, throwing the dice. The dice spun around on their tips, striking each other. The other Bakura looked at the situation in alarm. Was she going to...?

"Super critical!" said the other Yugi. Indeed, the dice had landed on a 00. "Energetic slash!" she continued. "The warrior cuts her opponent in half!" Said opponent was the creature with the single eyeball.

"Amazing, Yugi!" exclaimed Ansei.

"Another critical hit!" said Yugi.

The other Yugi chuckled.

_Can she...?_ wondered the other Bakura.

"Hey, get the lead out, Bakura," said Jounouchi impatiently. "So I killed him, right? What happens next?"

"Uh..." said the other Bakura. Things were not going according to plan. "Seeing his companion slain by the warrior, the other monster hesitates and loses his next action! Beast Tamer! It's your turn!"

_I have to make as many monster allies as possible before entering Castle Zorc!_ thought Yugi. Out loud, she said, "This monster is strong! It would be great to have him on our side! Beast Tamer Hand Power!"

"Until a few moments ago, the Zorc arm dragon was a part of Zorc!" said the other Bakura. "The potential to brainwash him is a very low 10%!"

_I need a dice roll of less than 10 or I fail,_ thought Yugi. _But I believe in the other me!_

"Here goes!" said the other Yugi. She threw the dice. Once more, they repeatedly struck each other.

_Heh,_ thought the other Bakura. _The red dice column is an 8! There's no way she can... eh?!_

The white die, which was still spinning, hit the red die, changing the roll.

"One of the many ways of cheating with dice, the double hit!" said the other Yugi. "The same class as your 'run of criticals,' Bakura!"

The dice landed on an 02.

"Another critical! That means I brainwash him!" said Yugi. "Okay! Now I've got a new monster!"

_I can't believe Yugi knows the 'double hit' dice trick..._ thought the other Bakura.

"So that jerk Bakura was cheating?" asked Jounouchi. She turned her head towards the other Yugi. "Yugi! Is it true that you can control the roll of the die?!"

"Yes," said the other Yugi. "These ten-sided dice are shaped like five-petaled flowers on top and bottom. In the double hit technique, the important thing is the spin the dice like a top with the even face on top.

"Furthermore, when you throw the die you put a strong spin on the die that represents the ones column. The die with the weaker spin will stop first, but if it stops on something other than zero, the stronger spinning die can change the number of the first die.

"You control the path of the spinning by vibrating the surface, by shaking the table with your knee, for example. With this technique, you can change the number on the die as many times as you like. Too bad for you, Bakura! If you can cheat, I can too!"

The other Bakura glared at her. She took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, from now on, this is how we roll the dice. We let the dice slide off our hands. Spinning is prohibited!"

"I'll agree to that," said the other Yugi.

"Bakura!" said Jounouchi. "Next time you cheat, you should turn into a miniature too!"

"On with the game!" said the other Bakura. "After taking care of Zorc's servants, the adventurers continue onward to the gates of Zorc's castle!"

"Let's go, guys!" said Yugi.

_I've stopped Bakura's run of criticals!_ thought the other Yugi. _This is where the real fight begins!_

The gate to the castle opened slowly, making a loud (for a miniature, anyway) "Thump!"

"Now at last the adventurers' goal lies before them!" said the other Bakura. "The drawbridge lowers, making a path into the castle!"

"Awright, let's go!" said Jounouchi as the adventurers made their way into the castle.

"The adventurers enter Zorc's castle," said the other Bakura. "The castle field opens!" And indeed, the model of the castle unfolded to reveal an interior. In front of the adventurers was a throne atop a platform, with three small staircases to the top of the platform.

"You've come to the last stage of your quest," said the other Bakura. "Somewhere in the castle awaits Zorc! Can the group of heroes find him, and slay the demon?"

"Hey, Zorc! Where are you hiding?!" asked Jounouchi. "Come out and fight us!"

Honda looked to her left. "Huh?" she asked. Upon closer inspection, she said, "That tower looks suspicious!" The tower had a small alcove in it.

"Okay, let's go in," said Jounouchi.

"Hold on!" said Yugi. "I wonder what this pedestal is...? Those marks..."

"It's just some dumb carving," said Jounouchi. "C'mon, let's go inside!"

_No... that mark is suspicious!_ thought the other Yugi. _It must have some meaning... it looks like the upper part of the pedestal is missing! This is a trap!_ Out loud, she said, "Wait, everyone! Don't go in the tower!"

"But we're already here..." said Jounouchi.

The other Bakura smirked.

"The ceiling is falling!" yelled Jounouchi.

"The adventurers have fallen into a trap," said the other Bakura. "But don't worry! Instant death traps are the tool of amateur game masters! A good game master prolongs the torture as long as possible! I'll give you a chance to save them, Yugi!"

"Ouch!" said Jounouchi. "This ceiling isn't just heavy, it's got spikes in it! We can't move!"

"Bakura! You player-killing scumbag!" yelled the other Yugi.

"I know the breaking point of my lead figures," said the other Bakura. "They can hold our for just a little longer! You have three turns! In other words, three rolls of the dice! If you fail, your friends die!" She laughed. "This is the puzzle! To save your friends, you must create the column to support the ceiling! However, to do that, you must roll a certain number on the dice!"

"C'mon! Roll a critical!" said Jounouchi.

_I don't have time to think,_ thought the other Yugi. Everyone's lives are riding on this! She rolled the dice. "Yes! A critical!" It was an 04.

"You did it!" said Jounouchi.

"Too bad!" said the other Bakura. "A critical, but I said you needed _a certain number!_ Here's a hint... you have to roll doubles!"

_That carving must be key,_ thought the other Yugi.

"That reminds me," said the other Bakura. "It's time for a monster encounter roll to see if Zorc appears! There's a 30% chance that he shows up!"

The other Yugi's eyes widened. Everyone was dead for sure if Zorc showed up.

"Judgement roll!" said the other Bakura, rolling the dice. A 28. "Zorc emerges from the castle!"

"You fell straight into my trap!" said Zorc. "Foolish children! Prepare yourselves! I'll cut you to shreds while the trap holds your corpses in place!"

The other Yugi rolled again. 13. No good.

"Zorc attacks!" said the other Bakura. "Since his target can't move, his success rate is 95%!" She rolled. 41.

Yugi was now at 13 hit points, and Jounouchi was at 15.

The other Yugi came to a realization. The numbers that could match were 00, 33, 66, 88, and 99. That was a 5% chance that this would work. She rolled the dice. 33. The column appeared.

"You found the solution," said the other Bakura, "but in that same instant, Zorc gets another attack!" She rolled. 12. "Zorc strikes the adventurers! He slices through all of you, tower, pillar, and figures all at once!" She laughed. "Dead at last!"

"You forgot!" said the other Yugi. "The player characters have much higher speed! Once the puzzle was solved, they succeeded in escaping! They're alive and well and behind Zorc! By taking Zorc's back, the adventurers get a surprise attack!"

The other Bakura let out an "Urk..." as the other Yugi rolled, landing a 15.

Jounouchi attacked.

"Are you ready, Zorc?!" asked Jounouchi.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" said Yugi.

"Let me kill him!" said Honda. "I'll never forgive you in a million years! I'll put a hole in your brain, Zorc!"

"Hear that, Bakura?" asked the other Yugi. "My hand channels their anger into these dice!" She rolled the dice. 09.

_Another critical!_ thought the other Bakura. _Impossible!_

"Thunder grenade!" said Honda.

"And Ansei gets a free attack too!" said the other Yugi. She rolled. 13.

"Apprentice Death Blaze!" said Ansei.

"And now the final blow!" said Yugi, as the other Yugi rolled. 08.

"A critical!" said the other Yugi.

"Beast attack!" said Yugi. The two monsters she tamed attacked Zorc.

_What? Again?!_ thought the other Bakura. _How can Yugi keep rolling criticals...? She's not doing anything special with her hands...!_

"Scared, Bakura?" asked Jounouchi. "Yugi told you the answer! Our souls are channeled into Yugi's dice! When we get mad, the dice get angry!"

The other Bakura chuckled.

Zorc reappeared.

"What?!" said Yugi.

"After all those attacks, that jerk Zorc hasn't taken any _real_ damage?!" asked Jounouchi, disbelievingly. 

Bakura laughed. "Fools! You are still apprentices, level-one adventurers! You don't have enough experience to defeat Zorc!"

_Ggg...!_ thought the other Yugi.

"B-but that's even after all those critical hits!" said Jounouchi, horrified.

"Th-then... there isn't any way for us to win!"

"Are you calling me _unfair?_ " the other Bakura asked mockingly. "Cowardly, perhaps? "As the Dungeon Master, I made everything in this game world! I _am_ the rules! I _am_ the monsters!"

_Grr...!_ thought the other Yugi. _This game was rigged so that we couldn't win from the start!_

"Now, continue the battle!" said the other Bakura. "You can at least act out your deaths gracefully!" It would make for a most climatic ending if they did not go gently into the night. _Yugi, you may have stopped my run of criticals, but just like you, I have other ways..._ thought the other Bakura. _I've sealed the souls of one of my host's former gaming friends into every one of theses lead figurines! But I'm not limited to figurines! I can seal a soul into anything! That is the power of my Millennium Ring!_ Out loud, she said, "You've had your turn – now Zorc gets his! He turns his full wrath on the adventurers!" Using a pair of dice that looked identical to the ones she used before, she rolled. 00. "Super critical!" she said. "Zorc black magic! Dark catastrophe!"

The figurines were knocked down.

_No...!_ thought the other Yugi. Not after all this!

The other Bakura laughed. "Zorc's magical attack has the power to kill characters with more than 50 hit points in an instant! All of the player characters are dead! Well then... it's probably pointless, but... I'll calculate each character's status on the computer. There are so many variables in this game, it's safest to let the computer crunch all the data." The other Bakura began typing on her computer. "I'll input the data on Zorc's attack power, the die roll, the characters' defense, hit points, damage... the end result will be the number of hit points each player character has remaining! Well, no matter what, it'll be less than zero... hmm..." Her eyes widened. "What?!" she said. _They each still have one hit point left?! That can't be...! Something's gone wrong...!_

The figurines were slumped forward. If not for their cartoonish proportions giving them short legs and big feet, they would be on their knees.

"You made it!" the other Yugi exclaimed.

"You all right, guys?" asked Jounouchi.

"Good, everyone's alive," said Ansei.

_Even when our souls are separated, we're never apart!_ thought the other Yugi. _If my other soul died, my soul would die too! The game isn't over yet!_

_Yup!_ thought Yugi.

_How...? How did they...?_ thought the other Bakura. Just then, she noticed something. _What?!_ Her left hand was typing by itself! _What's going on?!_

Her hand had typed a message. "I am Ryoko Bakura. I won't let you kill my friends. I'll fight too."

_Ryoko Bakura...?!_ thought the other Bakura. _I locked my host's soul deep down... how did her consciousness come to the surface...?_ She realized something. _Could it be...?! My own soul is linked to the Zorc miniature in the game world! But Zorc's left hand was cut off when the adventurers caught him off guard! It's impossible... but it's real! Ryoko Bakura is controlling my left hand!_


	25. How to Slay a God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends try to defeat Zorc, but things are not looking good for them! But when unexpected help arrives, things start to turn around for them.

The other Yugi rolled the dice. 05. Jounouchi landed a critical hit on Zorc.

"I'll say it one more time, Bakura," said the other Yugi. "It's not over yet!"

"Jounouchi took out Zorc's left eye!" said Honda.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "That one had to hurt!"

Zorc was at 178 hit points.

The other Bakura's left eye was closed. _I was nice enough to let you play in my world, and you ingrates repay me by rebelling against the game master!_ she thought. _I was going to be nice and let you live on as Monster World miniatures! But no more! Death to all players! I'll bury you in darkness!_

The other Bakura's left hand typed another message. "I won't let you control me anymore! I'm going to help my friends strike you down!"

_Not again!_ thought the other Bakura. _Ggh... this is a message from my host... from Ryoko Bakura! But what can you do with just one hand?_ Out loud, she said, "If I place the computer where my left hand can't reach, you're powerless!" She laughed.

_Bakura's expression changed when she checked the game data on the computer..._ thought the other Yugi. _What in the world is going on? I know she made some kind of miscalculation... maybe that's the key to defeating Zorc!_

"All right, back to the game!" said the other Bakura. "The warrior strikes a perfect hit! Her short sword gouges out Zorc's left eye! However, Zorc's hit points are only lowered a fraction..."

"This sucks," said Jounouchi. "No matter how many criticals we get, we can't do Zorc any real damage! His defenses are too good!"

"We're all at level 1!" said Yugi. "He's level 15!"

"How in the world can we defeat Zorc...?!" asked Jounouchi.

_First things first, we have to restore everyone's hit points – fast!_ thought the other Yugi. _Ansei can use his healing magic on his turn! But if Zorc attacks before he can go, we're dead for sure!_

_Please!_ thought Ansei. _Let my turn come next! Then I can raise everyone's HP with my healing spell! My level's too low to raise the dead! If anyone dies in this game, they're gone forever!_

"Now, according to the initiative scores," said the other Bakura, "Ansei's magician goes next. But–! Zorc's score is tied with Ansei's! That means they both go at the same time!"

"What?!" said Honda.

"In this case," continued the other Bakura, "the first attack is decided by a die roll! Is that fair enough for you, Yugi?"

The other Yugi was silent.

"We both throw the dice," said the other Bakura. "The one who rolls closest to 00 goes first! This is it! If _you_ win the initiative, the magician's healing magic can save everyone's lives! However, if _I_ win, Zorc's next attack will wipe everyone out! Are you ready? Let's go!"

They rolled at the same time.

_Everything rides on this roll!_ thought the other Yugi.

_H-ha ha ha! Victory is mine!_ thought the other Bakura. _The soul of one of my former players is sealed within these dice! They always roll a super critical!_

The other Yugi rolled a 09.

The other Bakura laughed. "A super critical! I win!" she gloated. "Prepare yourself! Zorc moves faster than Ansei! He raises his claw to attack and–!"

The other Yugi chuckled.

"W-what's so funny...?" asked the other Bakura.

"Are you _blind,_ Bakura?" asked the other Yugi. "Take a good look at your own roll!

"What?!" said the other Bakura. She had, in fact, rolled a 10. _Impossible,_ she thought. _That can't be..._

The other Yugi chuckled. "Like you said, the dice don't lie!"

"I get to go first!" said Ansei. "I use my magic! Healing Magic of Luona!"

"Awright!" said Jounouchi. "I feel great! Ansei did it!"

_Why?_ wondered the other Bakura. _Why didn't the dice roll a critical...?_ She suddenly noticed something. _Th-these are just ordinary dice! They aren't my cursed dice after all! What happened to them? Where did they go...?_

Out loud, she said, "All right! You're healed! But compared to Zorc, you're still nothing more than micro-organisms! Even at your maximum hit points, you'll be blown to dust on Zorc's next turn! Get ready! Zorc hits on an 80 or less! And if he hits, then _all of you_ take damage!" Rolling the dice, she said, "Here I–!" but stopped midsentence. _What the – ?! My left hand threw the dice on its own! And those are the cursed dice!_ She could hear a voice coming from the dice.

It said, "I won't let you control me anymore! I won't let you control me!" The dice landed on a 99.

Zorc exploded.

"Urrgghh!" the other Bakura yelled. "This... this blasted left hand!"

The others looked at her in shock.

The other Bakura impaled her own hand on one of the spires of the castle miniature. She laughed. "How do you like that, Ryoko Bakura?! How does the durable poly-resin feel?"

_...What?!_ thought the other Yugi. _Did she just say "Ryoko Bakura"? It can't be...!_

The other Bakura laughed maniacally.

"Look at Bakura's expression!" said Ansei.

"She looks terrible!" said Jounouchi. "I'm almost sorry I hit Zorc in the face!"

"How could this be the same Bakura...?" asked Yugi. "I won't believe it! This can't be the same Bakura who was so nice to us!"

"I think so too!" said Honda.

"That girl's not Bakura!" said Ansei.

"Yeah! We remember!" said Jounouchi. "The real Bakura's a good person!"

_She wasn't lying back then,_. thought the other Yugi. _Ryoko Bakura really was our friend!_

The other Bakura laughed. "Next is the beast tamer! It's your turn!"

_Even at level 1, we still have power!_ thought the other Yugi. "Game master!" she said out loud. "The beast tamer will try her hand power on Zorc, the lord of darkness!"

"What?!" asked the other Bakura. "Your 'hand power' is a magic ability that turns enemy monsters into allies, _if they have some good in them!_ Do you honestly think that will work on Zorc?!"

_We've figured it out!_ thought Yugi. _Our friend is trapped within Zorc!_

The other Bakura chuckled. "A useless effort... Zorc would _never_ become your ally, even if it meant the end of the world!"

"I'm trying it anyway!" said the other Yugi. "Here's my roll!" She rolled. 05. "A critical!"

"Fool!" said Zorc. "You'll have to raise your level to a million before you even think of making me an ally!" Suddenly, something happened.

"Look at Zorc's left arm!" said Ansei.

_Something_ was coming out of the stump where Zorc's left hand used to be.

_Wh-what?!_ thought the other Bakura. _H-how can this be happening?!_

_A person is coming out of Zorc's left arm!_ thought Yugi.

The person landed in front of Yugi.

"You... you're Bakura, aren't you!" said Yugi.

"Thank you... everyone... for saving me... I'm the white mage Bakura! I'm an NPC created by Ryoko Bakura! Please let me join your party!"

"Of course!" said Honda.

"Awright! We've got a new party member!" said Jounouchi.

"Let's defeat Zorc together!" said Yugi.

"Okay!" said Bakura.

_A white mage created by my host...?!_ thought the other Bakura.

"It's still your turn!" said the other Bakura. "The magic gunman goes next!"

"The gunman attacks! She shoots Zorc!" said the other Yugi. She rolled a 15.

"Wow!" said Yugi.

"What's going on?!" asked Jounouchi. "That hurt him a lot more than before!"

"As an NPC," explained Bakura, "I obey the will of the other game master, Ryoko Bakura. I thought it might help, so I lowered Zorc's defenses with my magic!"

_No...!_ thought the other Bakura.

Zorc was at 81 hit points.

"Awright! Dead on!" said Jounouchi. "Look at that hole in Zorc's head!"

The other Bakura chuckled.

"Look!" said Yugi. "Zorc's changing shape!"

"This is Zorc's final form!" said the other Bakura. "His attack and defense both go up! And now it's Zorc's turn! His long-awaited attack!"

"Look out, everyone!" said Bakura. _No good,_ she thought. _No time to raise everyone's defense!_

The other Bakura rolled. 00.

"Zorc inferno!" said the other Bakura.

"White magic!" said Bakura. "Shining Shield Level 13!" She was exhausting herself with the spell.

"White Mage! How long can your magic shield last against Zorc's flames?" asked the other Bakura.

"Hang in there, everyone!" said Bakura. _I-I'm going to run out of magic energy..._ she thought. _I'll convert my hit points to magic points!_

The attack continued for several minutes. Eventually, the flames dissipated.

"The attack is over! Is everyone okay?!" asked Honda.

"We've all taken a lot of damage," Jounouchi noted. She then noticed something.

"Bakura!" The white mage was collapsed on the ground.

"You risked your life to save us?!" said Ansei. "Just wait, Bakura," he said. "I'll use my healing magic on the next turn to – !"

"I'm... all right..." said Bakura. "Ansei... if you have enough magic points to heal me... use all of that energy on your attack next turn! I don't have enough power to protect everyone again. If we don't finish it this turn... we will all die!"

_Bakura!_ thought the other Yugi.

“We got ya, Bakura!” said Jounouchi. “If we gotta die, we'll do it together! It's time to hack and slash!”

_Grr..._ thought the other Bakura. _How could they withstand the Zorc Inferno? This is bad... after he attacks, Zorc's weak point is exposed!_

"If Zorc raises both his attack and defense when he reaches his last form," asked Yugi, "then why didn't he do it before now?"

"That's because this is Zorc's final gamble!" said the other Yugi. "We've pushed him so far that he had no choice! He may have raised his attack and defense, but in return, he's exposed his weak point." Suddenly, she noticed something. “Look at that! The muzzle of Zorc's death weapon! There's his weak point! The eye of Zorc!” Suddenly, she noticed something else. “Ah! The hole is closing!”

“No good! It's too late!” said Yugi.

_H-ha ha... you're too late!_ thought the other Bakura. _It sent a chill down my spine when you figured out Zorc's Achilles' heel, but if the opening closes, I have nothing to fear! I win!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Poki launched itself into the hole where Zorc's weak point was located.

“What?!” yelled the other Bakura.

“Thank you... Poki...” said Jounouchi. _But it's not too late!_ she added in her head.

“We won't sacrifice a friend we've fought alongside!” proclaimed the other Yugi. “An evil soul isn't worth an ounce of the life of a friend! Let's go! The beast tamer attacks!” She rolled the dice. _Just you wait!_ she thought. _I'll save you!_

The dice landed on 02. A critical.

Yugi summoned a hand that punched Zorc, but managed to save the Poki as well.

“All right!” said Honda. “She hit the weak point dead on!”

The other Bakura let out sounds of pain. _You... little...This is the final blow!_ thought Jounouchi.

Jounouchi attacked. Zorc collapsed.

“We did it! We beat Zorc!” yelled Honda.

_No... not yet!_ thought the other Yugi.

Zorc got up, slowly.

“Zorc isn't dead yet?!” Honda yelled.

_H-ha ha ha..._ thought the other Bakura. _Not yet... I still have a card to play!_ She laughed. “The fact that you didn't finish Zorc on this turn will be your downfall! On the next turn, Zorc and the adventurers must roll for initiative again! Yugi! This is the last die roll! We roll at the same time! The winner goes first!” _If I win,_ she thought, _I'll have Zorc self-destruct and take the adventurers with him! You'll all be dead, and I'll win!_

“I'll take you on! This roll means life or death!” said the other Yugi. _I'll put everything I have into these dice..._ she thought. _And I will win!_

_It's useless to struggle,_ thought the other Bakura. _You will die in this world, along with Zorc! Even if my avatar dies, as long as the Millennium Ring exists, my soul will live forever! And now, with the Millennium Ring, I'll take the step I can only take once! I'll seal a part of my own soul into these dice! There's no way I won't get a super critical when I roll these dice! H-ha ha ha... Yugi! This is the end!_ Out loud, she said, “Let's do it! The roll of life or death!”

They both threw their dice into the air.

The other Yugi landed a 00.

The other Bakura also landed a 00.

She laughed. “What a cruel strike for you! At the moment when you were sure of victory! To fall down into the jaws of defeat! This is great! This was the best game ever!” She laughed again. “Two sets of double zeroes! The most dramatic ending! Everyone dies! Just as you leap forward to attack, Zorc blows up, taking you with h – huh?”

The dice cracked.

“It's you...!” said the other Bakura. _Ryoko Bakura!_

"I don't want to lose any more friends!" said Bakura. "Even if it means my soul should shatter!"

_Ryoko Bakura's soul is in the dice...?!_ thought the other Bakura. _Could it be, when I sealed part of my soul into the dice, she somehow sent her soul too...?! But... if she put her entire soul into the dice, she can't go back to her body! That's suicide! She gave her life to destroy the dice...!_

_Yugi... everyone... thank you for believing in me..._ thought Bakura.

“Bakura! No!” said the other Yugi.

_Ggkk..._ thought the other Bakura. _My dice are gone... nothing but dust...!_

_Bakura..._ thought the other Yugi. _I can still feel your heart!_ Out loud, she said, “So you rolled a super critical? I don't see any super critical! No dice, no roll! We attack!”

The other Bakura winced.

“Prepare yourself, Zorc!” said the other Yugi. “Ansei's magic attack! Final Big Bang!”

The other Bakura screamed as Zorc finally died.

“We did it!” said Yugi. “We defeated Zorc at last!”

Bakura returned to normal. She slumped down onto the desk, the Millennium Ring falling down onto the floor.

“Bakura!” said the other Yugi, running around the table to Bakura's unconscious body.

“Yugi! How's Bakura?” asked Jounouchi.

The other Yugi was silent briefly. When she spoke, she said, “It's no good... she's dead.”

The others' eyes widened.

_Bakura sacrificed her soul for us..._

“No,” said Bakura. “Ryoko's soul is still alive... inside of me...”

_Huh...?!_ thought Jounouchi.

“The game master created me into this world and through her adventures made me grow," explained Bakura. "Over time, I became a level 13 white mage. And now I can pay my master back.”

The others looked at her wide-eyed.

“Whoa... Bakura...” said Honda.

“Since I'm level 13, my healing magic should be strong enough to transfer my soul back to my master!" explained Bakura. "But I'm a lead figurine in a game world... I can't move without the will of a game master or a player. So, Yugi! Throw the dice for me! Make the roll to do my magic!”

“I will!” said the other Yugi, smiling. “Don't worry! I'll be sure to roll a critical!”

“The next time we meet in this world, I too will be a level 1 white mage without any experience..." said Bakura. "Farewell... everyone...”

The other Yugi rolled the dice. It was a critical, of course.

The real Bakura awoke. Her eyes slowly opened.

“...Yugi...” said Bakura. Was it just her, or did Yugi seem much more confident than before?

“Bakura...” said the other Yugi.

The others returned to normal, as well. The now-motionless figurines seemed so happy.

A few days later, everyone that had gone comatose because of Bakura had returned to normal. Even Ms. Karita, who was back to her usual strict drill-sergeant-style ways.

“Good morning, Yugi! Good morning, everyone!” said Bakura, more cheerful than usual.

“Good morning, Bakura!” said Yugi.

“Yo!” said Jounouchi. “You got the bandage off your left hand?”

“Uh-huh!” said Bakura. “There's something I want to show all of you!”

“Something to show us...?!” asked Jounouchi.

Bakura pulled something out of her bag.

“Wow, what's that?” asked Ansei.

“I made it myself!” said Bakura, holding it up.

“Wow! Cool!” said Yugi.

“This diorama is a memento of that adventure!" explained Bakura. "A symbol of our friendship when we fought together against the monsters!”

Yugi was looking forward to playing Monster World again someday. Hopefully it wouldn't involve anything nearly as dangerous as what they just went through! A more complex world and story would be interesting, too...


	26. Duel of the Mind's Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have been mostly normal, but after the finals of a Duel Monsters tournament, Industrial Illusions CEO Millicent J. Pegasus challenges Yugi to a duel... over videotape?! And if Yugi loses, she must participate in a new Duel Monsters tournament to decide the best duelist in the world!

It was an ordinary day for Yugi Mutou, at least as ordinary as days could get since solving the Millennium Puzzle. It seemed everyone was playing Duel Monsters these days. Ever since word got out that she had beaten Setomi Kaiba, former Duel Monsters champion, in a duel, the game had exploded with popularity at Domino High School.

"Bwa ha ha ha! Take this, Ansei!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "I attack with Rock Ogre Grotto!"

"Then on _my_ turn," said Ansei, "I use the spell card Wind of the Gods! The holy wind erodes your golem! He turns to dust and blows away! I win!"

"Agggh!" said Jounouchi. "I lost again?!" Turning to Yugi, she said, "Yugi! Why... why?! Why can't I win? What am I doing wrong?!"

"Show me your deck, Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

"Here!" said Jounouchi, handing Yugi the deck.

Yugi looked through Jounouchi's deck. Something was very, very wrong.

"Ack! What's this?!" asked Yugi, wide-eyed. "Your whole deck's made of monsters?! All forty cards?!"

Jounouchi chuckled. "That's right! I stuffed my deck with the strongest monsters I could find!"

"Uh... that's no good!" said Yugi. "The biggest strategy in this game is combining monsters and spell cards!" she explained. "Your opponent can easily destroy you if you fight with your monsters alone!"

"Hmm..." said Jounouchi. "Awright, Yugi! Please! You gotta train me to play better!"

"Okay!" said Yugi. "Come by my place after school!" Remembering something, she said, "Oh, and you've chosen a great time! The finals of the Duel Monsters tournament is on TV at 5:00 tonight!"

"It is?" asked Jounouchi. "Let's watch it together!" She hoped to learn from watching great duelists, as Duel Monsters players were called.

That evening, Sugako Mutou closed the shop, just in time for Yugi, Ansei, and Jounouchi to arrive.

"I'm home, Grandma!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Ah, Yugi!" said Sugako. “Welcome home! You're all here! Come on in!”

“Huh, you closed already?” asked Jounouchi.

Sugako laughed. “Of course! The Duel Monsters finals are tonight! I can't be stuck watching the shop!” Turning to Yugi, she said, “By the way, Yugi, a package came for you!”

“A package?” she asked. “Who's it from?”

“There's no name on the return address...” Sugako noted.

_I wonder what it is,_ Yugi thought.

At 5:00 that night, the four gathered around the television.

“The show's almost starting!” exclaimed Ansei “This is really exciting!”

“Of course!” said Jounouchi. “This decides the number one Duel Monsters player in Japan!” Turning to Yugi, she asked, “Why didn't you join the tournament, Yugi? You coulda gone all the way!”

“Yup...” said Yugi, trailing off. “But I made a decision... when I enter a tournament, it'll be to fight _her..._ ”

Jounouchi and Ansei stared at Yugi blankly. Who was this “her”? Why did Yugi want to beat her to the point that she would _only_ join a tournament to fight her? Ansei realized something.

“You mean Kaiba...” he said.

“Yup!” said Yugi. “This time fair and square! That's my dream!”

“I hear Kaiba's still...”

“In the hospital,” said Yugi, finishing Ansei's sentence. “She hasn't woken up yet. I went to visit her yesterday... no change...”

“I still...” murmured Jounouchi. Much louder, she continued, “Even if she came back, I still wouldn't trust her! I'd never trust that creep! Never!” Honestly, why did Yugi want anything to do with her? Kaiba was no good for her! Did Yugi think she could _change_ her with just one duel? What did she see in her?

“Oho! It's about to start!” said Sugako, conveniently interrupting before Jounouchi could say something she'd regret.

“For the thousands of Duel Monsters fans across the country, it all comes down to this moment!” said the announcer. “The final round of the Duel Monsters tournament is about to begin! Out of the 200 duelists who made it through the regionals to this tournament, only one can claim the crown! The finalists are entering the stadium!”

Two girls entered, one from each doorway in the arena.

“From East Japan! Insector Haga! Fourteen years old! From West Japan! Dinosaur Ryuzaki! Fifteen years old!” The camera focused on each duelist for a bit.

The two made it to the table in the center of the arena, giving their decks to each other to cut and shuffle.

“Let the battle begin!” exclaimed the announcer. “This virtual simulation box was developed by Industrial Illusions, the makers of Duel Monsters, in cooperation with Kaiba Corp! Now the duelists are in the duel box! They're sitting down!”

“I can hear your cards shaking in fear,” Haga told Ryuzaki.

“Whatever!” said Ryuzaki. “My dinosaur cards will crush you like an ant!”

“Duel!” said the announcer.

Haga and Ryuzaki each drew five cards for their starting hand.

“Hey Yugi!” said Jounouchi. “Who you think's gonna win?”

“Insector Haga's specialty is insect combos!” said Yugi. “She'll attack by enhancing her insect cards with armor cards and stuff! On the other side, Dinosaur Ryuzaki uses the megaton power of her dinosaur cards to overwhelm her enemy!”

"Say, what's with their outfits?" asked Jounouchi. "Their appearances are a little on-the-nose."

"You know how in pro wrestling wrestlers will put on over-the-top personas?" asked Yugi.

"Yeah?" asked Jounouchi.

"Some duelists do the same thing!" said Yugi.

“So, if it's between insects and dinosaurs,” said Jounouchi, “then there's no question! The dinosaur's gotta win!”

“You think so...?” asked Yugi. Suddenly, something happened. “There they go! Look!”

“Dinosaur Ryuzaki has played her rare card, the most powerful of the dinosaurs, Two-Headed King Rex!” said the announcer

“Take that!” said Ryuzaki.

“On the side,” continued the announcer, “Insector Haga counters with... the Basic Insect!”

“What's with that wimpy card?!” asked Jounouchi. “Ryuzaki's won already!”

_No!_ thought Yugi. _Insector Haga's setting a trap!_

“Kill him, King Rex!” exclaimed Ryuzaki. “Kill the bug!”

Haga laughed, an unusual “Yuk yuk yuk!”

“Huh?!” said Ryuzaki.

“You said 'attack!' Your command to 'attack' activates this card I've been hiding!” said Haga.

_What?!_ thought Ryuzaki. _A trap card?!_ It seemed like these were becoming more common in the meta than Ryuzaki thought.

“Infinite dismissal! The Tyrannosaurus is sucked into the whirlpool of time, frozen for all eternity!” said Haga.

“Oh, no!” said Ryuzaki as the dinosaur was surrounded by water. “King Rex!”

“Now it's my turn!” said Haga. “I power up the Basic Insect with the Insect Gun Armor Level 5! Attack!”

The now-massively-powerful Basic Insect easily destroyed King Rex.

Haga laughed. “King Rex is dead!”

_I... I lose!_ thought Ryuzaki. _This is a bug hunt! A bug hunt! Game over, man! Game over!must_ come to the tournament my company will be sponsoring!” said Pegasus.

“Uh...” said Haga.

“Although the excitement is still running high in the stadium,” said the announcer, “we must sign off for now! Don't forget to collect all the limited edition Duel Monsters tournament cards at Duel Centers near you!”

Turning off the television, Sugako said, “Insector Haga, eh...? Can't say I'm surprised.”

“Me neither!” said Yugi. “But it sure was a great duel!” Turning to Jounouchi, she said, “Watching that got me all fired up!”

“Now I get what you said about how even strong monsters can't stand against a good combo!” said Jounouchi. “C'mon Yugi! Train me! Train me!”

“Okay!” said Yugi.

“Before you do that, Yugi,” said Sugako, “I'd like to know what's in this package...”

“Oh yeah,” said Yugi, “I forgot...” Turning to Jounouchi, she said, “We can play after I open this!” _Wonder what it is?_ she thought.

She opened the package.

“Wha...?!” said Yugi. “What the – ?”

In the package was a single red fingerless glove, with metal studs on the knuckles and a short, chunky bracer with ten star-shaped holes, a video tape, and a pair of star-shaped chips that fit into the holes in the glove.

“Maybe the explanation is on this tape!” suggested Jounouchi. “Can you play it, Yugi?”

“Yup! We have an 8-millimeter player!” said Yugi. Inserting the tape into the player, she said, “Okay, let's see!”

When the tape started, there was initially static, before a face appeared on screen.

“Hello!” said the woman on the tape. “At last we meet, Yugi! Nice to meet you!”

“That's the woman who – !” said Jounouchi.

“The American who was just on TV... the woman who created Duel Monsters! Pegasus something!” said Yugi.

“Don't be so surprised!” said Pegasus. “I just wanted to send a video letter to the esteemed Yugi Mutou, the _real_ champion!”

_Video letter?!_ thought Yugi.

“I understand you are very skilled at Duel Monsters!” said Pegasus. “After all, you defeated Setomi Kaiba! Good job! Well done! Wonderful!”

Yugi stared at the screen in shock. Surely word couldn't have spread that far.

“Now, shall we get down to business, Yugi?” said Pegasus. “I want to test your skill right here and now! I challenge you to face this video recording of me at Duel Monsters!”

_What?! >_ thought Yugi.

“How can Yugi play against someone recorded on a video tape?” asked Sugako. “Impossible! That's no challenge! She can't even know what cards Yugi plays!”

“All right?” said Pegasus. “Build your deck in front of the monitor! In five minutes, our duel will begin!”

“Okay!” said Yugi. “I'll take on _any_ challenge!”

“You gonna do it, Yugi?” asked Jounouchi.

“I'll do it!” said Yugi.

As she arranged her deck, Yugi thought, _My opponent's the creator of Duel Monsters! To play against her is a dream!_ After finishing, she said, “Okay! My deck is ready!”

“Are you ready?” asked Pegasus. “Then let's go! Duel!”

The two shuffled their decks, then drew their starting five cards.

“I'll start with the Koumori Dragon – the Devil Dragon card!” said Yugi.

“Let me guess... the Koumori Dragon, right...?" asked Pegasus.

“What...?!” said Yugi. _She just guessed the name of my card...?!_

“This can't be...!” said Sugako.

“How can she see the cards from across the screen?” asked Jounouchi.

“You see, Yugi,” said Pegasus, “I knew that you were going to play that card! Why, I even know what's in your hand! You're planning to combine the Koumori Dragon with the Dragon Knight on your next turn to increase your attack power! Am I wrong?”

Yugi stared at the screen in shock. _No way...! Can she read my mind?!_

Pegasus chuckled. “We can't have that... so I'll remove your Koumori Dragon with my Dragon Capture Jar! Devil Dragon sealed!”

Something strange happened.

_The picture on the card got sucked into the TV screen!_ Yugi thought. _This is a Shadow Game!_

With that the other Yugi took over.

“Then I'll be your opponent,” said the other Yugi. _This isn't going to be easy,_ she thought. _I'm fighting the woman who made the game!_

Pegasus chuckled.

_But how...? thought the other Yugi. _How can a person pre-recorded on a video tape read my cards?!__

_“Come on!” said Pegasus. “Why do you look so _angry_ all the time? It's just a game! Let's both enjoy it!”_

__She's making fun of me!_ thought the other Yugi, glaring at the screen._

_“That's just dumb luck!” said Jounouchi. “She named a card at random and happened to get it right!”_

__No..._ thought the other Yugi. _That wasn't random chance! She's a Shadow Game player! Somehow, she can read my cards!_ After all, there were far too many cards for a random guess to be so accurate._

_“Now, shall we get on with the game?” asked Pegasus. “It's your turn, Yugi!”_

_“Okay!” said the other Yugi, drawing a card. It was Baby Dragon. 1200 attack points, 700 defense points. _As long as she has Dragon Capture Jar on the field, I can't use any dragon cards!_ she thought._

_“Take your time... think it over...” said Pegasus. “Remember your friend Kaiba?” she asked. “Even her Blue-Eyes White Dragon is powerless before this card! This is a new rare card I just added. This game _never_ stops evolving! There's always some new card you've got to have...”_

_“Then I'll challenge you with _this!_ ” said the other Yugi. “Beast card! Silver Fang!” Silver Fang had 1200 attack points and 800 defense points._

_“I _knew_ that you would play a beast card,” said Pegasus. “And in the next turn, you plan to play the Mystical Moon to turn Silver Fang savage and make him stronger!”_

__She read me again!_ thought the other Yugi._

_Pegasus chuckled. “Beast monsters are weak against fire, so this card will be enough! The Genie of the Jar! The Dragon Piper is the only thing that can release the seal of the Dragon Capture Jar!"_

__She's going to release the Koumori Dragon and take control of it!_ thought the other Yugi._

_“Yes!” said Pegasus. “The Genie's flute unleashes the dragon!”_

_The Koumori Dragon attacked Silver Fang._

_“The Devil Dragon's hellfire destroys the wolf!” proclaimed Pegasus as Silver Fang disappeared._

_The other Yugi's life points were now at 1500._

_“Wow, Yugi!” said Pegasus. “I heard you were pretty good, but I know your strategy like the back of my hand! Must be a little _jarring_ to you, eh?”_

_The other Yugi growled. Pegasus was _deliberately_ playing mind games here._

_“Then take this!” yelled the other Yugi. “The water monster, Great White!” It had 1600 attack points and 800 defense points._

_“Go get 'em, Yugi!” said Jounouchi._

_“Then I'll play Oscillo Hero!” said Pegasus. It had 1000 attack points and 500 defense points._

__No good!_ thought Sugako. _Yugi's Great White is a water card! Its attack power is halved against a lightning card like Oscillo Hero! Great White doesn't have a chance!__

_Oscillo Hero attacked Great White, destroying it. The other Yugi's life points were now at 1300._

__Why?!_ wondered the other Yugi. _Why does she know all my plans?!__

_“I understand your shock,” said Pegasus, “but this is reality! You cannot defeat me!”_

_“Tch...” muttered the other Yugi._

_“Now, I think it's about time...” said Pegasus. “Let me tell you the _other_ reason I challenged you. It wasn't just for fun... hear this, Yugi! If you lose this game, you _must_ take part in a tournament my company is holding! That event will determine the true champion of Duel Monsters! To be honest, I'd wanted Kaiba to go as well... but, it's too bad... I hear she's not going to recover...” After a brief pause, she said, “Anyway, of course, the one who wins the tournament will also win a large sum of money! And something even _more_ valuable! Wait 'til you find out what it is!”_

_"I'm not interested in any event of yours!" said the other Yugi. "What if I refuse...?”_

_“No, no, no!” said Pegasus. “You _can't_ refuse, because you can't defeat me! You can't escape!”_

_“Oh really?” said the other Yugi. “Well, I haven't lost yet!”_

_“Okay,” said Pegasus. “Then let's keep playing! That's the spirit, Yugi!”_

_“Let's go!” said the other Yugi, drawing a card. _There has to be a reason why Pegasus can read my hand!_ she thought. _What is it?_ She was about to play a card when she realized something. _Hold on... just now, I picked this card without thinking... I was depending on my instinct! But! What if what I thought was my instinct was actually planted by my opponent? That'd be just like reading my hand... could it be?! All right! I'll test my theory! I picked this zombie card instinctively!_ Out loud, she said, “I play this card face down!” She turned to Sugako, Jounouchi, and Ansei. She asked, “You haven't seen the card I played, right?!”_

“Of course not!” said Jounouchi, looking irritated at such an obvious question. “Only you saw it!” 

“Okay!” said the other Yugi. “I want everyone to tell me what this card is!” 

“What?!” asked Sugako. 

“We can't do that!” said Jounouchi. 

“We aren't psychic!” said Ansei. 

“That doesn't matter!” said the other Yugi. “Just say whatever pops into your head!” 

The three stared at her in silence, before closing their eyes. After a few seconds, Sugako opened her eyes, saying, “It's just a feeling, but... I got the picture of a skull!” 

The other Yugi looked at her wide-eyed. 

“I'm thinking of a cool warrior!” said Jounouchi. 

“Well... actually...” said Ansei, “I thought of the same thing your grandma did... a skeleton!” 

_I was right!_ thought the other Yugi. _Two out of three guessed a zombie-type monster! This isn't a coincidence! Now I get it! I know how she could “see through my cards”!_

Pegasus chuckled. “Well! It's my turn!” she said. “I _so_ hate to repeat myself, but I know just what card you're playing! An undead! A zombie-type card!”

The other three stared in shock. 

“What's goin' on?!” asked Jounouchi. 

“She said the same thing we did!” said Sugako. 

“I play the Rogue Doll!” said Pegasus. “The Rogue Doll obliterates all zombies with her Holy Light of Shining Chaos!” Rogue Doll had 1600 attack points and 1000 defense points. 

“I knew it...” said the other Yugi. 

“Huh?!” said Sugako. What did she mean? 

“She's inserted frames into the film! She's using subliminal messages!” said the other Yugi. 

“Subliminal messages?” asked Sugako. “You mean the technique where you flash pictures on the screen for just an instant? Your brain picks it up, but you don't remember it consciously? Could she really do that?” 

“Of course!” said the other Yugi. “As proof, three of the four of us watching this video guessed the same picture! She's been using subliminal images to lead us along from the start! For example, she'd insert a certain monster into the film for a few frames. It only flashes on the screen for a split second, so you don't realize you saw it. But you unconsciously remember the monster and choose that card on your next turn! On each of my turns... no, probably from the time I built my deck... she was making me choose the cards she wanted!” 

“This battle is mine!” exclaimed Pegasus. “I win, Yugi!” 

“Is that so?” asked the other Yugi. “The card I played face-down was the Dark Magician!” She had 2500 attack points and 2100 defense points. 

Pegasus raised her eyebrows. So Yugi was able to outsmart her this turn. Interesting. 

“Black Magic!” exclaimed the other Yugi, as Dark Magician attacked Rogue Doll, easily destroying her. 

“Heh,” said Pegasus. “I _also_ knew that it was about time for you to see through my trick, Yugi.” _Very good,_ thought Pegasus. _So far, you pass! Now let me show you my true power!_ Out loud, she said, “Wow! Not bad! But I still knew you were going to play the Dark Magician! I just took the hit to keep things fair.” 

_Just like Pegasus said,_ thought the other Yugi, _the destruction of the Rogue Doll is recorded on the video tape this turn! It's not just subliminal! She really is reading my hand one or two moves ahead!_

“Now comes the _real_ duel, Yugi!” said Pegasus. “However, you are fighting a video of me... and there's only so much film left on the tape! So let's add a time limit to this game! I'll put this timer in the upper right corner of the screen!” she said, pointing towards said corner. Indeed, a timer did show up there. “When this counter reaches zero, the person whose life points are higher wins the game! And of course, a penalty game awaits the loser!” 

_Penalty game!_ thought the other Yugi. So she _was_ a Shadow Game player! 

_Heh heh..._ thought Pegasus. _Yugi! You cannot defeat me... I've been scanning your mind! It's your fate to take part in my tournament... to come to my Duelist Kingdom!_

“Okay! Get on with it!” the other Yugi snapped. _If we waste time, the counter will reach zero!_

“Okay!” said Pegasus. “It's your turn!” 

“The Dark Magician will kill the Devil Dragon!” said the other Yugi. “Black Magic!” The Dark Magician killed the Koumori Dragon easily. 

“Oh, no!” said Pegasus, pretending to faint in a deliberately over-the-top manner. 

“Your life points are running out!” said the other Yugi. And indeed, Pegasus' life points were now at 300. 

“My turn...” said Pegasus. _Heh heh..._ she thought. _Yugi... you don't realize that_ I'm _pulling the strings!_ Drawing a card, she said, with a deliberately over-the-top grin, “Oh my god! I can't believe it! My next card is the Illusionist Faceless Mage!” It had 1200 attack points and 2200 defense points. 

“Yugi could be in trouble,” said Sugako. 

“But the Dark Magician's attack power is higher,” said Ansei. “Doesn't that mean she should win?” 

“No,” said Sugako. “In this format of Duel Monsters,” she explained, “attack strength isn't the only thing that determines a battle. The monsters that the players summon each belong to a particular type or element! And some are stronger or weaker against other types!” 

“You mean even if they have higher attack points, they can lose if they aren't the right type?” asked Ansei. 

“Correct!” said Sugako. “That's what makes strategy so important in this game!” 

“I'm not done yet!” said Pegasus. “I play the illusion card, Eye of Deception! And now I attack the Dark Magician!” 

“All right! I'm ready!” said the other Yugi. _If I win this battle,_ she thought, _I win the game!_ Out loud, she said, “Black Magic!” 

“Eye of Deception Illusion!” Pegasus countered. 

The mages attacked each other. But nothing happened. 

_Five minutes until the counter reaches zero,_ thought the other Yugi. _I could keep my life points by staying out of fights and playing defense. That way I'd win for sure... but that's the path of a coward!_ Out loud, she said, “I'll fight to the end! I'm going to take your life points down to zero! My next card is...” _Yes!_ she thought. “The elf knight! Celtic Guardian!” Celtic Guardian had 1400 attack points and 1200 defense points. _The Illusionist doesn't have any special advantage against this card!_ she thought. _The elf's attack points are higher! If I attack, I'll win!_

The Celtic Guardian attacked the Illusionist Faceless Mage. 

Of course, this was exactly what Pegasus was waiting for. 

The Celtic Guardian screamed in pain. 

_No way,_ the other Yugi thought. _The Celtic Guardian was hit...?! But the Illusionist didn't even move! Did he attack so quickly I couldn't see it?! He couldn't have! Then how...?_ The answer came when she looked at the Dark Magician. The wdjat eye that was on the Eye of Deception card was floating in front of her. Her eyes were blank. _It can't be...! The Dark Magician?! Oh, no! In the last battle, the Dark Magician was hit by the Eye of Deception! She fell under control of the Illusionist for this one turn! How did Pegasus know? Can she see the future?!_

Now the other Yugi's life points were at 200. 

“Now,” said Pegasus, “it's the end of my turn. And time's almost up! That was such a good fight!” She clapped. “Nice try, Yugi!” 

There were eight seconds left. 

“The game's not over yet!” said the other Yugi, drawing a card. 

“A demon trumps an illusionist! And my next card is the Summoned Skull! For my final move, the skull demon will blow you away! Demon Lightning!” 

But the timer hit zero before Summoned Skull could attack. 

“Game over!” said Pegasus. “If that battle had gone on, I would have lost... or would I?” 

The other Yugi growled. 

“Yugi!” said Jounouchi. 

“Yugi...” said Pegasus. “You have even more talent than I expected... I predict we will meet again at the Duelist Kingdom.” 

The other Yugi glared at the screen. Who was this woman to decide that her attendance of a tournament was mandatory?! 

“By the rules of trading card game,” continued Pegasus, “the winner can take one of the loser's best cards. But you don't have any cards I want... so, I'm going to take something special to you instead. That way you won't try to escape me! Penalty game!” 

The screen flashed with a blinding light, forcing everyone to turn away. The screen then returned to normal. 

_What just happened...?!_ wondered the other Yugi. 

Jounouchi stared in shock at the sight before her. “Hey, granny!” she said. Sugako had collapsed. She didn't answer. 

“Grandma!” said the other Yugi. “What's wrong, Grandma?” 

“Finally...” said Pegasus. “Let me show you how I could read your hand!” 

The other Yugi turned to look at the screen in shock. 

Moving some of her hair so it didn't cover her left eye, Pegasus said, “It was the power of the Millennium Eye! Mind Scan! The power to see into the mind of your opponent!” 

“The Millennium Eye?!” asked the other Yugi. Indeed, in place of an ordinary eye, there appeared to be a small golden sphere, with a wdjat in it. 

“Now, let's meet at my kingdom," said Pegasus. "If you defeat me, your 'something special' will be returned...” 

Pegasus faded from the screen, which was now filled with static. But, now... 

“Grandma's on the TV screen!” said the other Yugi. 

“Yugi...” said Sugako 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I included the bit about over-the-top personas that duelists put on because some of the duelists have names/appearances that fit their deck theme a little too well. Then I realized that's a bit like pro wrestling, where wrestlers put on occasionally-over-the-top personas. So that's my new headcanon.
> 
> Also, I did, in fact, genderflip the Dark Magician. Not a typo, and I haven't mistaken him for female. Just so we're clear.
> 
> I based fem!Pegasus' name on canon!Pegasus' dubbed name, because it makes more sense to refer to a CEO by either their full name or their last name, rather than just their first name. Also, I just realized I made an accidental pun. Milli _cent_ , anyone?
> 
> Speaking of changes to Pegasus, I dropped canon!Pegasus' tendency to call Yugi and Kaiba "Yugi-boy" and "Kaiba-boy," rather than change it to "Yugi-girl" and "Kaiba-girl," because I found that tendency of Pegasus' to be a little too creepy. Probably just a way to indicate that he looks down upon the two, but I still find it a little unnecessarily icky.
> 
> It's also my headcanon that Pegasus acts deliberately over-the-top to get under everyone's skin. Assuming this somehow _isn't_ canon or at least heavily implied. After all, it would probably be easier to win duels if your opponent is too distracted by how annoyingly over-the-top and/or unnerving you're acting to make good moves. Not that he wouldn't win by the sheer power of the Millennium Eye alone, but it would be easier.


	27. Set Sail for the Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Yugi's defeat at the hands of Pegasus and Sugako trapped in a camera, she and her friends set sail for Duelist Kingdom! Jounouchi is also dueling, to restore her brother's eyesight! But just what _is_ the "Honor of the King's Left?"

The next day, Yugi and her friends were at school.

"Good morning, everybody!" said Bakura.

"Hey," said Honda, less enthusiastically than usual.

"Good morning, Bakura..." said Ansei, trailing off.

The five were silent for a moment.

"What's wrong?" asked Bakura, breaking the silence. "What's the matter?"

Yugi stared gloomily at a camera.

"Hmm? What are you watching, Yugi?" asked Bakura, leaning down to look at the screen. Sugako's face was on the screen.

"Ho ho..." she said. "You're Bakura, aren't you? Good morning!"

"Wha – ?!" _She... she spoke to me...?!_ Bakura wondered. "Is this a video phone?!"

"Nope," said Yugi. “My grandma is stuck in this video!”

“Huh?!” said Bakura.

“It's hard to believe,” said Jounouchi, “but Yugi lost a game of Duel Monsters to this weird woman's _video recording!_ This chick had a Millennium Item and she used her power to put Yugi's grandma on this video tape!”

_A Millennium Item...!_ Bakura thought, alarmed. So there were more Millennium Items besides the Puzzle and the Ring!

“What should I do...?” asked Yugi. “What if Grandma can't return to normal...?”

“Here here!” said Sugako, pointing at Yugi. “I'm doing just fine in here! Don't you all get so down in the dumps!”

“Granny's right!” said Jounouchi. “Getting depressed isn't going to solve anything! Right, Yugi?”

“You're right!” said Yugi. “I guess I'm okay but the other me isn't.”

“What?!” said Ansei. “You've learned how to talk with your alter ego?” Jounouchi began to roll up a newspaper into a conical shape.

“It's not like I can talk to her with words...” said Yugi. “But if I close my eyes, I can sense what she's feeling!”

Ansei was silent for a moment. “So she's depressed...?” he asked.

“Yup...” said Yugi, turning her head downward. “I think she feels bad about losing to Pegasus...”

“Hey in there, other Yugi!” Jounouchi shouted into the rolled-up newpaper, in an effort to lighten the mood. “Cheer up!”

“Ack!” yelled Yugi, eyes wide, blood draining from her face. Shouting next to her ear was _not_ how to communicate with her alter ego! She wasn't even sure how much of her environment her other self could pick up on...

Jounouchi set down the newspaper. “Anyway,” she said, at a _much_ more normal volume, “if you want to save your grandma, it looks like we have to get back at Pegasus!”

“Yup! That's what she said...” said Yugi. “'Come to my kingdom!'”

_Kingdom...?!_ thought Bakura.

“She said that's where they're going to crown the champion of Duel Monsters!” said Yugi.

“The Duelist Kingdom...” said Sugako. “The problem is we have no idea where that is!”

“You said that Pegasus has a Millennium Item, didn't you?” asked Bakura.

“She not only _has_ one, she dug out her _eye_ to put it in!” said Jounouchi, disgusted, as she gestured at her own left eye.

“Maybe if you go to this kingdom you'll find out the secret of the Millennium Items...” Bakura speculated. “Like my Millennium Ring...”

“Agh!” said Jounouchi. “You still _have_ that thing?!”

“It's okay!” Bakura said in an attempt to be reassuring. “As long as I'm not wearing it, it's just a piece of jewelry! My mother bought this from an antique shop in Egypt... but, as you know, there's another personality inside it... just like Yugi's puzzle... the thing I want most of all is to find out the secrets of those items! Like, who made them? How do they work? What are they for? I bet Pegasus knows the answer!”

There was a silence. Yugi started walking away.

“What's up, Yugi?” asked Ansei.

“I'm sorry...” said Yugi. “I'd like to be alone for a while... ah... not me... I mean the _other_ me!”

_What a mess,_ thought Jounouchi.

Up on the roof, Yugi let her other self take over for a while. The other Yugi stared off into the horizon, feeling the wind blow through her hair.

_Pegasus... she wasn't lying..._ she thought. She remembered what Pegasus said. _“My eye has the power of Mind Scan! The power to see into the heart of your opponent!”_ Looking down at the ground, she wondered, _How can I win against an opponent who knows what cards I have and what I'm going to do...?_ She rested her forehead against the chain-link fence. _It's my fault that Grandma is like that... I..._ She struck the fence with both fists. _I won't run, Pegasus!_ She turned around. _I'll go to your kingdom! I'll get Grandma back!_

That evening, Yugi was at the Kame Game Shop. “I'm home!” she said.

“Welcome back!” said a voice from her pocket.

“Huh?! Oh...” said Yugi. “You startled me... I'm so used to hearing your voice inside the shop.”

“Me too,” said Sugako. “But I'm getting used to being in here...”

“Hmm...” said Yugi examining the door. She noticed something. “Huh...” she said. “There's something stuck on the door.” It was an envelope. Ripping it open, she said, “I wonder what it is?” She pulled several small, flat objects out of the envelope. “These are...!” They were Duel Monsters cards. “Who could have left them?” she asked, mostly rhetorically.

“Yugi!” said Sugako. “Show me the cards!”

“Ah!” said Yugi, upon seeing the first card. It had a picture of a ship on it. “It says, 'Set Sail for the Kingdom!' It shows a time and a place! It's finally come! The invitation to Duelist Kingdom!”

Yugi's friends arrived.

“Hey Yugi!” said Jounouchi.

“Oh!” said Yugi. “Jounouchi! Guys! Why did you run here...?”

“Brace yourself!” exclaimed Jounouchi. “Look what I just got! A video tape addressed to me! The mailman delivered it today!”

“What?!” said Yugi, shocked. “You got a video tape too, Jounouchi?!”

_What's all this mean...?_ thought Jounouchi. Out loud, she said, “Anyway, can I watch it here, Yugi? I don't have an eight millimeter VCR!”

In the shop, the five gathered in a circle around Yugi's new cards.

“So these are the invitation cards!” said Jounouchi.

“Yup!” said Yugi. “They were delivered today! Five cards in all! Each tells you a little bit about Duelist Kingdom!” Holding up “Set Sail for the Kingdom,” she explained, “This one tells you when and where to board the boat that goes to Duelist Kingdom! One week from now at 9:30 at the Domino Pier!” Holding up the next card, she said, “Next is the Duelist Kingdom card!”

“There's an island drawn on it!” said Jounouchi.

“So the tournament must be on an island somewhere!” said Yugi. “A small island named Duelist Kingdom...” She held up the next card. It read “Duelist's Glove.” The description read, “All Duelists must have at least one Star Chip on their wrist band at all times.”

“That's the glove you got before, right?” asked Ansei.

“Uh-huh.” said Yugi. “These star chips must be proof of your status as a duelist. And you bet these star chips on your duels!” Holding up the last two cards, she said, “Then the last two cards... The Honor of the King's Right... this means the prize money that the Duelist Champion wins, I think.” The Honor of King's Right card, indeed, had an illustration of a huge pile of gold coins, several jewels, and a blade in a golden sheath. Its description read, “Great wealth.”

“But there's _nothing_ written on the other card, The Honor of King's Left!” she said. Indeed, there wasn't even an illustration on the card. Just a white space where the image would be. “There's some _secret_ honor that only the one who becomes the Champion can get!” Setting down the cards, she said, “That's it for the cards!”

“Let's watch Jounouchi's video next!” said Ansei.

“Aww right!” said Jounouchi. _It came for me too...!_ she thought. _That jerk Pegasus! Tryin' to make me into Yugi's rival!_ Somehow, being Yugi's rival seemed much more fitting for someone completely unlike her… Jounouchi put the tape into the player.

The screen was full of static for a few seconds, before a face appeared on screen. It was of a young boy with shoulder-length red hair and hazel eyes.

“Hi there, Katsuki!” he said. “How's my big sister doing?”

Jounouchi stared at the screen in shock.

The others were equally shocked. “Jounouchi!” said Honda. “Did he say 'big sister?'”

_Who knew Jounouchi had a cute brother..._ thought Ansei.

“It's been a long time!” Jounouchi's brother continued. He giggled. “I'm sending you a video so you don't forget what I look like! But I wish I could see your face too!”

Jounouchi was still wide-eyed.

“Actually,” he said, “I _really_ wanted to see you in person instead of by video... but you're so busy... and we live so far apart. I wanted to see your face for one last time.”

_Shizu!_ thought Jounouchi.

_“One last time?”_ wondered Yugi. _What does_ that _mean? What's wrong, Jounouchi?_

“Katsuki, don't tell Mom about this video..." said Shizu. "Well, that's all... take care of yourself... goodbye, big sister...” And with that, the video went back to static.

Jounouchi slumped forward, facing the ground. Figuring her friends would want to at least hear what was going on, she explained, “My parents split up six years ago. My brother went with my dad. They live pretty far away right now... my brother had problems with his eyes since he was born... the doctors say he'll go _blind_ eventually... when he said 'one last time'... that means... the docs... told him that time has finally come...”

“But that's horrible!” said Yugi.

“Isn't there anything they can do?” asked Ansei.

“They say that with the most advanced medical treatments in the world, there's a fifty percent chance they can do the surgery. But where can I get that kind of money...? I'm his big sister, but I can't do anything to help him!” Jounouchi said, tears in the corners of her eyes. “Not one thing!” Slumping down further and squeezing her eyes shut, she said, “I'm useless!”

The others were silent for a moment.

“Jounouchi...” said Ansei.

Jounouchi turned toward Yugi.

“Cheer up, Jounouchi!” said the other Yugi, who had taken over.

“Yugi...?” said Jounouchi.

“Don't give up!” said the other Yugi. “Remember this card! The star chips are proof that you're a duelist! Take one of mine!”

“Huh...?” asked Jounouchi. _Proof that I'm a duelist?_ she thought. “Yugi, are you serious...?”

“Let's go win those honors!” said the other Yugi. “Let's head to Duelist Kingdom as duelists! To save Grandma and your brother!”

_Yugi..._ thought Jounouchi.

“We've got one week until we leave!” said Yugi.

“We'll spend it training in Duel Monsters!” said Jounouchi.

“You bet!” said the other Yugi.

“We'll help you out too!” said Ansei.

One week later, at 9:00 PM, the ship to Duelist Kingdom had arrived.

The five approached Domino Pier from an alley.

“It's awfully quiet...” said Bakura, who was wearing a denim skirt with a cream-colored sweater.

“Is there really supposed to be a ship out here?” asked Jounouchi, who was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and a green jacket.

“The date on the ticket card is _tonight!_ There's no mistake!” said Yugi. She had decided to wear a different outfit, namely blue leather pants and a black tank top with a blue jacket.

Ansei was wearing a yellow collared shirt with a pink vest and jeans, with brown boots.

Honda was wearing a collared shirt, jeans, and a brown knee-length coat. She felt so much more comfortable in clothes like this than her uniform. Who designed the girls' uniform, anyway? A manga artist? At least from what she heard from older students, it wasn't as bad as last year's uniform, which had a garish orange blazer and green bow and skirt, an unpopular color combination retired after one year.

They were out of the alley and on the pier now.

“There it is!” said Yugi.

There was a large ship at the dock, with a crowd of people gathered at the gangway.

_That's the ship bound for Duelist Kingdom!_ thought Jounouchi. Out loud, she said, “Look! All those people!”

“They've got cards!” said Bakura. And indeed, many of them were trading their cards with each other.

“ _They've_ been invited to the Kingdom too!” said Jounouchi.

“They're duelists like us!” said Yugi.

_You mean they're rivals!_ thought Jounouchi.

Yugi recognized two in particular. “Look over there!” she said, pointing at one of them. “It's that insect girl who won the last tournament!” She then pointed to the other one. “And the runner-up...”

“Man, tough crowd,” said Jounouchi.

_Jounouchi and I trained hard at Duel Monsters this past week,_ thought Yugi. _And we each put together the strongest decks we could with the cards we had! Jounouchi's deck is focused on monsters, with some basic spell cards to help out! My deck has the cards I inherited from Grandma... like Exodia the Forbidden One!_ Out loud, she said, “We _have_ to win! Everything rides on these decks!”

“Attention duelists!” said a man in a suit with hair that stuck straight up. “I3 welcomes you to this event!" I3 was short for Industrial Illusions, Incorporated. "We researched your tournament records and even unofficial duels and handpicked the best duelists of Japan! The star named Glory shines above your heads, where any one of you could reach it! Now is the time, duelists! Come cross the seas! Reach for that light! To the Duelist Kingdom!”

The crowd cheered.

Someone laughed behind Yugi.

“It's like a pep rally for little kids!” she said. No, now that Yugi got a closer look, she saw that the person was male, despite his feminine attire of a jacket over a corset and miniskirt, with knee-high boots. “But I guess, it _is_ mostly kids here!” He laughed. “Haven't seen any real competition here yet...”

Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda stared at him, blushing.

“Is he a duelist, too?!” asked Yugi.

The man looked her way. “Hey, you're that kid called Yugi, right?”

“Um... er...” said Yugi. How did this man know her name?

“What a surprise! How could a little kid like you defeat Kaiba? You're famous, you know?”

“Er... thanks...” said Yugi.

“Who is this man?!” asked Ansei. He was probably just being friendly, but the way Yugi was reacting...

“Excuse me, sir!” said Honda. “I'm the friend of the famous Yugi! My name is Hon – ”

“I'm Jouno – ”

“Whatever!” said the man, walking away. “In a duel, it doesn't matter if my opponent is a little kid. Anyone who stands in my way will get crushed!”

Yugi and Jounouchi stared after him in shock.

“The name's Jaku. Maiku Jaku,” said the man. “See you later...”

Honda stammered incoherently. _Ah,_ she thought. _The return of Hiroko Honda, lovestruck fool._

“That sweet perfume...” said Jounouchi.

“You idiots!” said Ansei.

“Let's get on board," said Yugi. 

"Aw yeah!" said Jounouchi.

_At least someone besides me has some sense,_ thought Ansei. But then he thought of the scent of the perfume... he shook his head. _No. Don't think about it,_ he thought.

The five made their way to the ship with no problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a couple of names in mind for male!Mai. Initially, his name was going to be Maiki, but then I realized that name sounded silly, which doesn't fit with Mai's character, male, female, or otherwise. Then, I decided that his name should be Maiku... which was fine, except if I didn't change anything else his full name would have been Maiku Kujaku, which sounds silly said out loud because the syllable “Ku” gets repeated twice in a row. So I decided to make his last name Jaku. Incidentally, that makes Maiku's full name a homonym for Mai's full name. Sort of. The syllables that would be stressed change. I'll add a pronunciation guide if anyone's confused. Also, fun fact! Jaku is also the name of a character in Inuyasha, who is also a male crossdresser!
> 
> As for why I made Maiku a crossdresser, my original concept for Maiku's outfit would have been a white tank top and purple leather pants. But I thought that outfit would have been too similar to Yugi's, especially since I went with her wearing basically the same outfit as in canon here.
> 
> And don't worry, I'm not pairing him with anyone. This is just a momentary infatuation they have. I'm even going so far as to remove any Polarshipping hints, because the age gap is rather iffy.
> 
> Now, why did I have Yugi wear the same outfit as in canon, when canon!Yugi is known for wearing his school uniform all the time? Well, it's pretty clear in both the anime and the manga that Yugi _does_ own outfits besides his school uniform (particularly in the Anzu date chapter/episode and the anime version of Dungeon Dice Monsters). And I didn't feel like having fem!Yugi wear the rather short girls' uniform skirt all the time. It's also symbolic of Yugi becoming more confident in herself, that she's wearing things _besides_ her school uniform.
> 
> The reference to orange blazers and green bows and skirts on the old uniform is a reference to the Toei anime, because I wanted to reference it in some way, even if I'm not including the Toei version of early manga events. I guess Mikio's hair being blue could be another Toei reference, because in the colored version of the manga, Miho's hair was brown, even though the shading on the monochrome version would suggest a lighter color. I'm hoping to include some reference to Kaiba trying and failing to dye her hair at some point, as another reference to the Toei anime.


	28. Duelist Kingdom, Prelude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends have boarded the ship, where they gain some new information regarding the tournament. But what happens when Haga tries to steal Yugi's Exodia cards?

The ship set sail with the sound of a horn. The five stared as Domino City shrunk into the horizon.

_Jounouchi and I_ will _win!_ thought Yugi. _I'll defeat Pegasus and get Grandma back!_

_Wait for me, Shizu!_ thought Jounouchi. _I'll put my life on the line to save your eyes!_

They entered a door leading to a common room for the duelists to socialize.

"Attention everyone!" said the man with the hair that stuck straight up. "I will show you to your rooms. Please follow me!"

"With a ship this big," said Jounouchi, "the rooms _gotta_ be swanky!"

The crowd followed the man, who Yugi had dubbed “the Hair Guy” in her head, to various rooms.

“Excuse me...? Yugi?” said a voice. Yugi turned to the person who spoke. “You're Yugi Mutou, aren't you?”

“That's me!” said Yugi. “Ah!” she said. “You're Haga!” Seeing the girl next to Haga, she added, “And Ryuzaki!”

“Heya!” said Ryuzaki.

“Congratulations on winning the tournament, Haga!” said Yugi.

“It was nothing,” said Haga.

“It was _only_ because I went easy on her,” said Ryuzaki, not that Yugi believed her. That's what they _all_ said.

“We'll probably duel when we get to the Kingdom, Yugi!” said Haga. “I'm looking forward to it. The truth is, that tournament didn't really mean much to me. I can't _really_ call myself champion if I don't defeat you and Kaiba.”

_Kaiba..._ thought Yugi. She knew Kaiba was not going to be able to make it to the tournament... should she tell Haga?

“By the way, did you hear, Yugi?" asked Haga. "There will be new rules introduced to Duel Monsters at the tournament in Duelist Kingdom!”

“What?! New rules?!” asked Yugi.

“I don't know the details,” said Haga, “but apparently there's more strategy than before.”

“'New rules?'” asked Ryuzaki. “Who cares? That's all hype! When you play Duel Monsters, you win or you die... that's all there is to it!”

“What?!” yelled a voice. Yugi turned. It was Jounouchi.

“You _gotta_ be kidding! Whaddya _mean_ we sleep in this common room?!”

“What?!” said Honda. “We don't even get beds?!”

“Only the finalists from the last tournament have been given private rooms," said a security guard.

Ryuzaki chuckled. “Tough luck!” she said. “ _We_ get the luxury rooms!”

Haga suddenly realized something. “In one way, this common room might be _better_ than our private rooms,” she said.

“Huh?!” said Yugi. What was Haga going on about?

“The sponsors may have known that when they assigned our quarters.” Pointing to a group of people, Haga said, “Look over there!”

Yugi looked. “Ah!” she said. “The players in the common room are trading cards!”

“Right!” said Haga. “The people staying in this room can trade cards and improve their decks! And maybe get a peek at what cards their opponents have, too...”

_Wow... that's incredible!_ thought Yugi. _Insector Haga saw all of that in just one look! Like Sherlock Holmes!_

“See?” said Haga. “Your friend fits right in...” Indeed, Jounouchi had quickly calmed down from her outrage at not having her own room and was excitedly talking to people, seeing if she could trade some cards.

“Whatever!” said Ryuzaki. “If your deck isn't perfect by _now,_ there's no way you'll win the tournament!” Walking away, she said, “Good luck 'improving' your decks! I'll be chilling in the honeymoon suite!”

“Well, I'll see you later!” said Haga.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" said Maiku. "Not even a shower?!"

"Ah, it's him!" said Yugi.

"Man, he's loud," said Honda.

"Those are the rules, sir," said the security guard.

"Chill out, dude," said Ryuzaki. "Keep whining and they'll throw you off the ship!"

_That girl,_ he thought. _She's the runner-up from the last tournament... Ryuzaki!_

“I'll show you _my_ room if you want!” said Ryuzaki. She chuckled.

“All right!” said Maiku. He had an idea.

“Let's hang out in the common room!” said Yugi to her friends.

“It'll be fun!” said Bakura. “Like a sleepover!”

“Awright, Yugi! We got all night!” said Jounouchi. “Let's continue my training in Duel Monsters!”

“Okay!” said Yugi.

Meanwhile, Ryuzaki walked to her room with Maiku. “What do you think?” she asked. “Pretty choice, isn't it?”

“Wow! This is great!” said Maiku. “I hear you're a good player, Ryuzaki!”

“Well, you could say that!” said Ryuzaki.

“Say, do you want to challenge me to a duel?” asked Maiku. “If you win,vI'll give you one of my cards. They're pretty strong, you know! But if I win, I get the room!”

“Yep!” said Ryuzaki. She was sure she could beat Maiku.

Meanwhile, outside, Yugi and her friends stepped outside for some fresh air.

“Ahh, feel that cool ocean air!” exclaimed Bakura.

“Yugi,” said Sugako, “something just keeps bothering me!”

“Huh...?” said Yugi.

“ _Why_ is Pegasus gathering all these duelists?" asked Sugako. "There's something fishy about this event...”

“I think so too!” said Yugi. “But we have to go! I'll defeat Pegasus and put your soul back in your body! So don't worry, Grandma!”

“Oho,” said Sugako. “Someone's here!”

Yugi turned around. It was Haga.

“Ahh, Yugi!” said Haga.

“Hello, Haga!” said Yugi as Haga walked to stand next to her.

“I got bored sitting in my private room,” said Haga. “I came out to feel the breeze. Did you trade any good cards in the common area?”

“Nah,” said Yugi. “I'm going to fight with the cards I originally picked!”

“The cards you used to defeat Kaiba... you have Exodia in your deck, don't you...?”

“Gee, you know _all_ my moves already...” said Yugi.

“Yugi, could you show them to me?” asked Haga. “They're so rare... I've never seen those cards...”

Yugi paused. “I suppose if you already know, you can look...” she said, holding the cards in a spread.

“Can I _hold_ the cards?” asked Haga.

“Sorry, no,” said Yugi. Something about Haga's facial expression and tone of voice was suspicious.

Suddenly, Haga attempted to snatch the cards. Thankfully, Yugi noticed in time and held the cards away from Haga.

“Hey!” she said, moving her hands to keep the cards away from Haga. “What gives?!”

Jounouchi ran to see what the commotion was.

“What's going on?!” asked Jounouchi.

“Haga's trying to steal my cards!” said Yugi.

“Here, hand 'em to me!” said Jounouchi. Yugi did just that. Jounouchi held them up over her head. “Go get one of the security guards!” said Jounouchi. Yugi ran off.

“Hey, what's the deal, punk?!” asked Haga. “I just wanted to see Yugi's cards!”

“But when Yugi wouldn't hand you her cards, you tried to steal 'em!” said Jounouchi.

“I did not!” protested Haga.

“Oh yeah?" asked Jounouchi. "Then why were you tryin' to take Yugi's cards as she kept movin' her hands away from yours? That doesn't make much sense!”

Yugi was back, with a security guard.

“Are you Haga?” asked the security guard.

“Erm...” said Haga.

“Yep, this is Haga,” said Jounouchi.

“Here, why don't you come over here with me?” the security guard told Haga.

“Well... okay...” said Haga reluctantly. She was just a little shrimp of a fourteen-year-old. The security guard was a full-grown man, and a big one at that. She could not take him on in a fight, and since she was already probably in trouble... not that Pegasus was too big on enforcing rules…

Two girls stared at the bizarre situation. One of them, an androgynous-looking dark-haired girl with an undercut, a t-shirt, and jeans, turned towards her companion.

"The one time I sympathize with the person keeping an object away from a short person," said the dark-haired girl. "Isn't it ironic, Hikari?"

"Yeah, it is, Tsukiko," said Hikari, a girl who had dyed her bobbed hair white with red streaks and wore an off-the-shoulder top and skinny jeans.

Meanwhile, Maiku had beaten Ryuzaki in a duel, predictably. He was an adult. She was still a child. Honestly, thought Maiku, why did that little shrimp think she could beat me? Out loud, he said, “Get out, you twerp!” to Ryuzaki, who did just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose to have Yugi not lose the Exodia cards in this fic, because I didn't like how it happened. So I had this happen instead. But then I also wanted to have the Haga vs Yami Yugi duel happen. Then I realized Pegasus probably wouldn't enforce rules as much, given some of the shenanigans that happen in Duelist Kingdom.
> 
> Also, I attempted to make Maiku's behavior seem less flirty than in the manga. Because a 24-year-old acting flirty with a 15-year-old is creepy and gross, no matter what the genders are. Thankfully, this is only a minor aspect of Mai's character, so I don't have to alter very much.
> 
> And yeah, I did include a couple of OCs. I plan on making them major characters in Battle City, but they won't be duelists. Because a), that would mean replacing characters if they _do_ end up in the finals, and b), if they don't, I can't think of a reason Kaiba would let disqualified participants watch the finals in-person. Same reason they're only minor characters in Duelist Kingdom.


	29. Duelist Kingdom Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and her friends have arrived at Duelist Kingdom! As Pegasus explains the rules, Haga sets her sights on defeating Yugi!

The next morning, Yugi and her friends woke up. At the front of the ship, they saw the island out in the distance. It was approximately 5 kilometers across. Nobody knew its exact location, only that this was where they would play “the most dangerous game.”

“We made it to the Kingdom!” exclaimed Jounouchi when the ship was near the island. “Awright! Let's game!” She had obtained several cards in trades, among them Salamandra, Kunai with Chain, Baby Dragon, and Shield and Sword. These, along with the Time Wizard she had obtained from Yugi in the previous week, would surely help her in this tournament.

The other Yugi took over. She would need to eliminate someone quickly, to take their duel glove (that they wouldn't need anymore), so that Jounouchi wouldn't be caught without one, while having as much time as possible to duel. She noticed Haga looking in her general direction, laughing in her usual “Yuk yuk!” way.

_Haga, you scum!_ she thought. _I don't know how you weren't disqualified for attempting to steal my cards, but I'll take you down first!_

“All duelists must first head toward the castle for an important announcement!” announced the Hair Guy.

“A castle for a kingdom...” said Honda. “It's like the Middle Ages!”

“How bourgeois!” said Ansei.

The crowd ascended the stairways that led up to the castle in question. The stairs were built into the hill, with the castle itself on top of it.

“When you arrive, wait in front of the gates!” said the Hair Guy. When everyone had gathered in front of the castle doors, he said, “We will now explain the rules!”

On the balcony that overlooked the front of the castle, Pegasus walked to the edge from a door that presumably lead in.

“Welcome, everyone!” she said. “Welcome to Duelist Kingdom! Let me explain the rules of this tournament! The duels will take place with officially licensed Duel Monsters cards! I hope you all brought your most powerful decks! If you're not completely confident, you may trade cards with one another. Each participant should already have received a duel glove and two star chips. At this time, please place the glove on your right hand. On the gauntlet you'll find ten spaces where you can insert star chips. Please insert your two star chips now. These star chips are your life as a duelist! Whenever you fight a duel, you must stake at least one star chip on the outcome!”

_I see,_ thought the other Yugi, putting on her duel glove. _The loser surrenders the star chips they bet to the winner! If you lose all your star chips, you lose_ everything. _You're no longer a duelist! Since Jounouchi and I split our two star chips, we absolutely must win our first duels!_

“The duels will take place, battle royale style, all around the island," said Pegasus. "The first duelists to win ten star chips will be allowed the enter the castle. Only they will have the chance to obtain the 'honors!'”

_The duels will take place all around the island...?_ wondered the other Yugi. _Why does a card tournament need such a large playing area? What did Haga say...?_ She remembered. _Haga said there would be new rules introduced at this tournament. It seems we'll be playing a more advanced Duel Monsters game than before..._ she thought. _Interesting... very interesting indeed._

“The dueling begins in just one hour!” said Pegasus. “The time limit for the game is 48 hours. At that time, those who have less than 10 star chips will be eliminated! They will be deported from the island! Now, duelists! May the odds be in your favor!”

_Just you wait, Pegasus!_ thought the other Yugi.

An hour later, the tournament began. 60 hours remained.

The crowd had scattered off in different directions. The five themselves were in an open field.

“Okay, let's check the place out!” said Honda.

“It looks so peaceful!” said Bakura. “It hardly seems like a place to play Duel Monsters.”

“Look, those people aren't playing either," said Ansei. "I guess we're not the only ones who don't know what to do.” Noticing something, he said, “Hey, there's a sign over there!” The five moved closer to the sign. “A forest to the left... and a lake to the right...” he noted.

“Let's go to the forest!” said the other Yugi. “I saw Haga go that way!”

The five walked down the forest path. The trees were very tall, leaving the ground mostly dark, save for some patches of light where leaves failed to block the sunlight.

“Creepy...” said Jounouchi.

“Hey Yugi!” said a voice to the other Yugi's left. It was Haga.

The other Yugi chuckled. “At least you have the _courage_ to face me!”

“Of course, Yugi,” said Haga. “If I defeat you first, the rest will be easy! I challenge you to a duel right here, right now!”

“You asked for it!” said the other Yugi.

Walking towards a specific spot, Haga said, “There's a place to duel right here in the   
woods.”

“Hey!” said Jounouchi. “It's one of those battle box things!”

_You fool!_ thought Haga. _You don't even know it, but you've already fallen into my trap! Yuk yuk yuk..._


	30. Some Duelists Just Want to Watch the World Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and Haga begin their duel! But what will the other Yugi do when the field itself is powering up Haga's monsters?

Haga and the other Yugi entered the Duel Box and sat down.

The other Yugi crossed her arms.

"What?" asked Haga. "You're already down to one star chip? Does that mean you lost a game? If I take your last star chip, you're out of the tournament for good! I just need to stake _one_ chip, I see." She removed a single star chip.

"No," said the other Yugi. "You'll stake both your star chips!"

"What?!" said Haga.

"I told you I'm taking you out first," said the other Yugi. “It's like Ryuzaki said – it's either win or die. I'll stake one star chip... and my life!”

“Well!” said Haga. “Now _that's_ a new twist! Very well then... I stake two star chips! Yugi stakes one star chip and her life!” She couldn't be serious... right?

“C'mon Yugi!” said Ansei.

“Squish that bug girl!” said Jounouchi.

With that, the other Yugi and Haga shuffled each other's decks, handed them back, and drew five cards to start the duel.

“I play the Killer Bee! Attack mode!” said Haga. The Killer Bee had 1200 attack points and 1000 defense points.

The other Yugi drew a card. “I play the Mammoth Graveyard!” she said. Mammoth Graveyard had 1200 attack points and 800 defense points.

Haga laughed.

Mammoth Graveyard attempted to gore Killer Needle, but it counterattacked... and the Mammoth was destroyed. Killer Needle remained alive.

Haga laughed again. “Yugi...” she said. “You haven't realized why I chose the forest as the stage for our duel, have you?! Do you want me to tell you?”

The other Yugi looked at her stoically.

“Pegasus gave me a special preview of the new rules for Duelist Kingdom! You want to know? Look at this table! There's a landscape on the tabletop display! The display shows the landscape forty meters in all directions from this battle box! The place we're fighting in now is 80% forest and 20% wasteland! Do you get it now? My insect cards _thrive_ in the plant life of the forest! As a result, they get a 'field power source' that increased their attack and defense power! You can't win against my insect cards, Yugi!”

The other Yugi chuckled.

_Huh..._ thought Haga. Out loud, she asked, “What are you laughing about...?”

“Look at your insect monster!” said the other Yugi.

Haga let out an “Erk!” at the sight before her.

“What?!” she said. “My Killer Bee is dying!” _Yugi's undead Mammoth is suited to the 20% of the field that's wasteland! Her monster's got a field power source too!_

“Listen, Haga!” said the other Yugi. “I figured out that new rule the moment I sat down at this table! Too bad!”

_How did she figure out the new rules so quickly...?_ wondered Haga.

“'Why did Pegasus decide to hold her tournament on an island?'” asked the other Yugi. “I couldn't get that question out of my head... however, as soon as I sat down at this duel table and saw a landscape displayed on the screen, I solved _that_ puzzle! This island consists of several micro-climates. This 'field screen' shows the landscape surrounding us for forty meters in each direction. Depending on where the battles take place, the monster cards get a field power source to make them stronger. In this game, it makes a difference _where_ on the island you choose to duel!”

It seemed fairly intuitive, if you thought about it long enough. Insects and beasts fed on plant life and/or those who fed on it, so they had the advantage in the woods. Dinosaurs and zombies arose from the earth, so they had the advantage in wasteland. Winged beasts, dragons, and birds often made their homes high above the ground, so they had the advantage on mountains. Warriors and Beast-Warriors needed plenty of space to swing their weapons, and the latter sometimes fed on grass, so they had the advantage in grasslands. Fish and sea serpents lived in the water, so they had the advantage in the ocean.

“I _know_ why you led me to the forest, Haga...” continued the other Yugi. “Because it puts your insect cards at an advantage!”

“If my secret's out, then let's fight!” said Haga. “I'll turn this forest into your _grave!_ ” _Yuk yuk... the field power source doesn't just raise your attack power... there are other rules you still don't know!_ She drew a card.

“Go for it, Yugi!” said Ansei.

“Come on! Smoosh 'em! They're just bugs!” said Jounouchi.

“I play the Hercules Beetle!” said Haga. “Of course, he gets a 30% boost in attack power because of the forest's field power source!” The Beetle's original attack power, originally 1500, was now boosted to 1950. The other Yugi privately wondered if Hercules Beetle was a fan of classic British rock, or Greek mythology.

Haga laughed. There was no way Yugi could possibly beat her!

The other Yugi drew a card. _The field is 80% forest!_ she thought. _The rest is wasteland... but I don't have any good wasteland cards in my hand! Okay! I'll go with a combo!_ “I play the Feral Imp!” she said out loud. “And next, the Horn of the Unicorn!” This powered up the Feral Imp from 1300 attack points to 2000 attack points, with its defense points at 1400.

_Yuk yuk..._ thought Haga. She had this in the bag!

“The Hercules Beetle attacks! Scissors Boomerang!” said Haga.

_The imp isn't attacking...?!_ thought the other Yugi. _But why...?_

“There's one less imp in the world!” exclaimed Haga.

The other Yugi let out a “tch...” as the Imp vanished.

Haga laughed. “The Hercules Beetle's attack points are 1950! The Imp's true attack points are are 1300! So you lose 650 life points!”

_Why couldn't the imp attack...?_ wondered the other Yugi. Her life points were now at 1350. _Could it be that the monsters who gets the field power source also gets to attack first?_

Haga laughed. “That's right!” she said. “In the forest, my insects always win the initiative! That means I have the advantage in this battle!”

“No way!” said Honda. “Yugi's losing to Bug Girl!”

“Yugi!” said Jounouchi. “Don't give up, dude!” Okay, Yugi was not, in fact, a dude, but it's the thought that counts.

“I'm sure Yugi has some _awesome_ strategy in store!” said Bakura, trying to be positive.

“It's your turn, Yugi!” said Haga. “Play your card!”

The other Yugi drew a card. “I'll play a card face-down and end my turn,” she said. She didn't have anything that could counter Hercules Beetle, yet. She might as well defend her life points. The card she played was Griffor, which had 1200 attack points and 1500 defense points.

“Hmph!” said Haga. “You're already on the run! I think we both know who'll win...” She drew a card. “Here I go!” she said. “My special combo! First, I play the Basic Insect, and second, I give it the Laser Cannon Armor!” Now Basic Insect had 2000 attack points, as opposed to its previous 500 attack points, and retained its 700 defense points. “And when I add the field power of the forest, it's a triple power-up!” Now Basic Insect had 2600 attack points.

Basic Insect attacked Griffor. “One down!” said Haga. “You're not even _worth_ fighting!” she exclaimed, laughing maniacally. How did this _wimp_ defeat Kaiba? Or was Kaiba a wimp too? If that was true, Haga would have absolutely no problems beating Kaiba!

Drawing a card, the other Yugi played Saiga in defense position. It had 1200 attack points and 600 defense points.

Haga chuckled. “It's not worth my time to wipe out your stupid low-level monsters...” said Haga. “So... instead, I'll play this secret card, face-down!”

_A trap card...?!_ wondered the other Yugi. _Curses! I can't risk attacking! I'll have to play a face-down card of my own!_

Haga laughed. “Let me guess! A spell card, right? Well, it won't work on me!” Whatever card she could possibly have would be useless! “Look! My insect army is filling the field!” Laughing maniacally, she taunted with a “What's wrong, Yugi?! Just try to attack my insect cards!”

The other Yugi gritted her teeth.

“Each turn you wait, I'll just play more and more cards!" said Haga. "Prepare to meet your doom!”

The other Yugi drew a card and set another monster in defense mode. _More and more of them..._ she thought. _It's a plague of insects! But if I attack, I'll play right into her hands!_

“How does it feel, Yugi?” Haga asked tauntingly. “You're caught in my two-layer trap!”

“Oh no! Yugi!” said Jounouchi. “How's she gonna get out of this one?”

Haga laughed again. “Today we celebrate your death!”

_Grr..._ thought the other Yugi. Out loud, she said, “I play the Dark Magician! Defense mode!”

“Oho...” said Haga. “The Dark Magician...! That's one of your best cards, isn't it? Instead of indiscriminately raining doom on you, like I was planning, I'll destroy her first! Let's go! Basic Insect Laser Cannon! Your target – the Dark Magician! Attack!” She laughed. Nothing could possibly go wrong... right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

“Death! Death to the Dark Magici – ” She realized something. She finished the word much quieter. What was up with Yugi? She was so calm! Something was up...

The other Yugi chuckled, confirming to Haga that something in her plan went awry.

_Huh?_ she wondered. Out loud, she asked, “What's so funny?”

“You said 'attack,' right?" asked the other Yugi. "You can't take it back now!”

“Huh?!” Haga asked, eyes wide

“Remember that card I played face down?” asked the other Yugi.

_No way... a trap card?!_ Haga thought. Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

“That's right!” said the other Yugi. “And when you attacked, you fell for it!”

_Eep..._ thought Haga. _Mirror Force!_

“My Mirror Force reflects your attack back in all directions!” said the other Yugi.

“Aaghhh!” yelled Haga. “My insect army!”

The other Yugi chuckled. “You must have won the tournament by dumb luck,” she said. “Maybe, just maybe, the weakest player on the island is you!” It generally seemed that the more loudly confident the player was, the worse they were at dueling.

Now Haga was at 450 life points.

“Oh yeah!” said Jounouchi. “Now do you get it, ya freaky bug chick! You don't even come close to Yugi!”

“Yugi's amazing!” said Bakura. “She went _beyond_ her opponent's trap to set a counter-trap! Classic meta-gaming!”

“Yugi!” said Ansei. He could feel the slightest blush on his cheeks.

They heard a voice behind them. “That was smooth, all right,” said Maiku. “But little Yugi's only taken a small lead... a Duel Monsters game can go from victory to defeat in a single turn! It's too early to get cocky!”

_What's he doing butting in like that?!_ Ansei thought, annoyed. He had to admit that Maiku had a point, but the tone he used was a bit harsh! “Who are you calling 'little Yugi?' She's not a kid!” he said out loud.

“Listen,” said Maiku, “Insector Haga is the Japanese champion! She is a master planner with several winning strategies! The _real_ duel is just starting!”

“I gotta agree with Maiku, Ansei!” said Jounouchi.

“Yeah, me too!” said Honda.

“What's with you guys?!” said Ansei.

“I mean, of course Yugi's gonna win, right?" said Jounouchi. "But that doesn't mean she can let down her guard!”

_Yugi's going to duel him sometime..._ thought Ansei darkly.

_That's it, Yugi,_ thought Maiku. _Show all your tricks!_ He found that observing his opponents prior to a duel helped tremendously.

“Yugi!” said Ansei. “Beat Haga quickly!”

“Go for it, Yugi!” said Jounouchi.

“You'll regret this, you big-haired freak!” yelled Haga. “Now you've really made me mad!”

“Talk is cheap,” said the other Yugi. “Take your frustration and send it to me through your cards! And I'll give it back to you!” It seemed that those who couldn't keep their cool were most likely to lose.

_You're the one who talks big,_ thought Haga bitterly. _I still have the ultimate weapon in my insect deck! If I can play that card, victory is mine! Yugi! You can't escape your death!_

“Your side's looking a little empty, Haga!” said the other Yugi. “Don't you think you should play some monsters?”

“Fine!” said Haga. “I'll play this card!” The card was Larvae Moth, a defense-mode monster with 500 attack and 400 defense.

_Larvae Moth..._ thought the other Yugi. _A strange choice... it's weak in both attack and defense... she must be planning to attack with a combo... I won't fall for that trick... her trap card is still active on the field... if I attacked, all my monsters could potentially be destroyed! If I lost them all, I might lose most of my life points! I have to get rid of her trap!_ Out loud, she said, “I play this card! Monster Recovery!” She removed all her cards from the field. “I return all my cards to my deck, re-shuffle, and draw a new hand of five cards. From those, I pick my weakest card and sacrifice it to set off your trap!” Said card was Kuriboh, which had 300 attack points and 200 defense points. The trap card destroyed Kuriboh. The other Yugi now had 1050 life points. “Next, I play the Beaver Warrior and end my turn!”

Haga laughed. “You fool! You've done exactly what I wanted!”

“What?!” said the other Yugi.

“This is my trump card! The Cocoon of Evolution! I equip it on Larvae Moth! It has been surrounded by a giant cocoon!” Haga laughed again. “For the next five turns, Larvae Moth will gradually evolve into the Ultimate Perfect Great Moth! If that happens, the Great Moth will now be invulnerable! What's more, the power of the forest increases the defense power of the cocoon! None of the cards you have right now can even _touch_ it!” Indeed, its defense points were now 2600. “In five turns, my Great Moth will chew you up like an old coat!”

_I have to destroy the cocoon before it's fully grown!_ thought the other Yugi. “I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!” Gaia had 2300 attack points and 2100 defense points.

“Haven't you thought of a way to defeat that stupid cocoon yet?” asked Jounouchi, rhetorically.

_The Cocoon of Evolution combo..._ thought Maiku. _No one has ever beaten it before! What will you do, Yugi?_

“Give it up!” said Haga. “Your cards can't budge the Cocoon!”

_None of my monsters are good in the forest..._ thought the other Yugi. _And even if I use a multiple-card combo, with my current hand, I can't surpass the defense points of the Cocoon!_

“While the Cocoon of Evolution is on the field,” explained Haga, “I can't play another card until the monster inside reaches its Perfect form... in other words, that's the end of my turn... but inside the cocoon, my monster is steadily growing! Now what, Yugi?” She chuckled.

Several turns passed with neither able to do anything.

_Tch..._ thought the other Yugi. _I'm wasting my turns, and I still haven't found a solution!_

_Heh heh..._ thought Haga. _In just two more turns, the Ultimate Perfect Great Moth will be born! I win!_

The other Yugi gulped.

“You can't lose, Yugi!” said Ansei.

“Hang in there!” said Bakura.

“Yugi!” said Jounouchi. “We came to this island to win the Honors of the Duelist King! You can't lose _here!_ Burn down the whole forest if you have to! Just take down that cocoon!”

“You amateurs talk too much!” said Maiku. “Once a duelist sits down for a match, the only person they can believe in is themselves! A _real_ duelist wouldn't even pay attention to you shouting 'Yugi!' 'Yugi!' all the time...”

“No! She'll listen!” said Ansei. “Yugi will hear our feelings! Yugi will win... just you watch!”

_What a softie..._ thought Maiku. Suddenly, he noticed something.

The other Yugi gave a thumbs-up to her friends.

“She's good to go!” said Jounouchi.

_You mean she's found a way out of this situation...?!_ thought Maiku. This was unbelievable.

The other Yugi drew a card.

“I summon Curse of Dragon!” she said. It had 2000 attack points and 1500 defense points.

“I told you it's no good, stupid!” said Haga. “The Accursed Dragon's attack power is 600 points lower than the Cocoon!”

The other Yugi chuckled. “Who said I was going to attack right away?” she asked. “You just assumed that! What I was going to do was activate a spell card! Burning Land!”

“No way!” said Haga. “The forest is...!” _The forest is burning away!_ thought Haga.

“The Cocoon of Evolution has lost the field power source!” said the other Yugi. “Its defense power goes down!”

_Urk..._ thought Haga, wide-eyed.

"I also activate a spell card, Polymerization!" said the other Yugi. "I combine Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon to summon Gaia the Dragon Champion!" Gaia the Dragon Champion had 2600 attack points and 2100 defense points. “Now, Gaia!” said the other Yugi. “Spiral Saber! Sunder the Cocoon!”

“Awright!” said Jounouchi. “That cocoon is toast!”

“W-wait!” said Bakura, alarmed. “What's that?!”

Emerging from the remains of the cocoon...

“The monster inside the cocoon is still alive!” said Ansei.

_He didn't make it to Ultimate Perfect form..._ thought Haga _But the Great Moth is still strong enough to beat you, Yugi! I will rule this battle!_ Indeed, Great Moth had 2600 attack and 2500 defense.

The other Yugi chuckled. "None of that's going to matter," she said.

"What?! Why?" asked Haga, confused.

"Burning Land takes away 500 life points from the turn player," said the other Yugi. "I have 750 life points. You have 450. When I end my turn, I'll have 250 life points. You'll have none at the end of your turn."

_Crap,_ thought Haga. None of the cards she had right now could even _touch_ hers. _This is a bug hunt! A bug hunt!_ she thought. Game over, man, game over!

“She did it!” exclaimed Ansei. “Yugi won!”

Perfect, thought Maiku.

“Agghh...” said Haga. “This can't be true...”

“Now, now,” said the other Yugi. Walking to the other side of the table, she said, “Those are the rules! I'll take these two star chips!”

“Why you... you...”

"So the first person to lose all their star chips is the champion of Japan..." said the other Yugi. She chuckled at the irony. “Now get off the island, insect! And leave your glove behind! Or I'll pull off your legs one by one!”

Letting out a frighted “Agh!”, Haga took off her glove and ran off.

_Now I have three star chips! Seven more to get to Pegasus' castle!_ thought the other Yugi. Now that Haga was eliminated, Jounouchi had a glove, so she could start dueling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, people. Only _you_ can prevent forest fires!
> 
> In all seriousness, though, I ended up having to rewrite this chapter. When I was initially writing the fic ( _long_ before I started publishing, thankfully), I ended up losing the majority of the Duelist Kingdom arc (fittingly enough, I was working on the [thirteenth](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThirteenIsUnlucky) chapter, of what I consider to be the [fourth](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourIsDeath) arc (counting everything pre-Death-T as one arc) when I realized something was wrong. Namely, when I saved, it asked where I wanted to save, when it normally doesn't.
> 
> The reason I lost it was because I had the fic on an old flash drive.
> 
> Thankfully, I was able to recover the first eight chapters of Duelist Kingdom, because I had them backed up and forgot about them.
> 
> Which leads me to why this chapter was shortened compared to the original. Before I realized I still had the original version, I rewrote the chapter. I was getting impatient and just wanted to end the chapter as soon as possible, when I remembered that, in the real TCG, Burning Land has the side effect of the turn player losing 500 life points at their End Phase. This, combined with having the other Yugi _not_ make some useless attacks that would only cost her life points, made it so that she could survive that effect, and Haga couldn't.
> 
> Now, with regards to cards in the fic having their real-life card effects? It's going to be on a pretty case-by-case basis. If I can make it work with the cards the characters canonically had in their decks at that point in the story, I'll include them (reasoning being, card shuffling is basically random, so I'm not necessarily confined to what the characters drew at that point in the duel, especially if the details of what's in their hand are vague enough). Otherwise, it'll have their manga effects (or, in the case of anime-only cards in the filler arcs I'm adapting, their anime effects). I'm going pretty loose on this in Duelist Kingdom, because canonically, Battle City has different rules from Duelist Kingdom, and Battle City rules are closer to the actual TCG. I'm chalking up some of the stranger rules to Pegasus' mental state at the time, because quite frankly, Pegasus doesn't quite seem all there in the head at times, so it makes sense that the rules in Duelist Kingdom are kind of strange.
> 
> I also had the other Yugi be a bit more stoic about reacting to the new rule, because in the manga, right after being surprised about it, he says that he figured it out "the moment [he] sat down at [the] table." This directly contradicts his previous reaction, which suggested he had no idea.
> 
> I'm also trying to cut unnecessary reaction-dialogue, usually either "Yugi!"s or dialogue stating what just happened, because the former is annoying to have to type out and the latter is redundant, which doesn't work very well in text-based formats. It works better in anime and manga, where there's not as much of a need to worry about redundancy with regards to characters saying what just happened, because "what just happened" is conveyed with visuals and not text or (purely) dialogue.
> 
> Also, fun fact! The Viz translation has a typo during this duel! They misprinted Kuriboh's 200 defense points as 1200 defense points!


	31. Something You Can Show, But Can't See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Jounouchi versus Maiku in the second duel of Duelist Kingdom! But Maiku seems to always know _exactly_ what cards he has, without even seeing them! How does he do it?

Noon of the first day. 58 hours remain.

"Awright!" said Jounouchi, walking alongside Yugi. "Let's get out of this forest!"

"Will Jounouchi be okay...?" asked Ansei, following the other two from further behind. Honda and Bakura accompanied him.

"The duelists on this island are all strong...” noted Honda.

“Can Jounouchi make it to the finals...?” asked Bakura. She was really concerned... Jounouchi was new to dueling, and was reckless to boot... _something_ was bound to go wrong.

“I guess the only thing we can do is cheer her on. After that, it's up to her!” said Honda. She hated not being able to have her friend's back, but there were simply some things that someone must do by themselves. Not having a deck, she would not be able to duel, but if Jounouchi ever got into trouble that involved physical fighting, she would be there for her.

“Yes...” said Ansei. _Yugi... please help Jounouchi..._ he thought. _Help her save her brother Shizufumi from going blind..._ Ansei, unlike Honda, _did_ have a deck, but he wasn't participating in this tournament. But if push came to shove, and he had to duel, he could at least put up a fight dueling-wise.

Bakura also had a deck. Her deck was based (rather vaguely, she had to admit) on a tarot deck. She hoped to eventually put together a full-on occult deck. The supernatural always interested her, for reasons she couldn't explain.

“We've come to a grassy field!” exclaimed Jounouchi when the five left the forest. Pointing in front of her, she said, “Hey! I bet the view is great from that hill!”

“Geez, this isn't a field trip,” Ansei muttered.

Jounouchi was the first to get on top of the hill. _What a great view..._ she thought. Over to her right was some of the forest they just exited, and in front of her was the ocean. _Shizu, I promise you!_ she thought. _I'll show you scenery like this someday! I promise you!_

The five were silent for a moment, taking in the fresh air.

Finally, Ansei spoke up. “Look!” he said. Pointing to various places, he said, “Over there! And there! Look at all the battle boxes!”

The other Yugi chuckled. “Looks like the other duelists finally got over their cold feet,” she said.

“Awright!” said Jounouchi. “Next time, I'm gonna duel!”

“Be careful when you choose the site for your duel, Jounouchi,” warned the other Yugi.

“Yeah, I know,” said Jounouchi. “Based on the field you choose, your monsters get weaker or stronger! I got it, Yugi!”

“Yes,” said the other Yugi. “The other duelists must have figured out the rules of this island by now. They'll stake out the areas that put their monsters at an advantage and wait for a duelist to come by!”

“What field works best for _your_ monster cards, Jounouchi?” asked Bakura.

“I have a lot of Warrior and Beast-Warrior cards,” said Jounouchi, “so I guess it would be the plains.”

“So right here would be Jounouchi's territory,” said Honda. “There's mountains to the left and sea to the right. You should stay around here...” That's what Honda would do in Jounouchi's situation, anyway.

Suddenly, they heard a voice yelling, “We're done! Give me your star chips and leave!”

“Th-that voice...” Bakura said. “It's coming from that duel box!” The box in question was off near the forest. The distant voice laughed.

The voice belonged to Maiku Jaku. “Run home to your _mommy,_ little boy!” She laughed. He was easy to beat, even for a kid.

“Maiku Jaku!” said Honda.

“He already has four star chips!” said Jounouchi.

“I went easy on you because I thought you were a woman...” admitted the boy. “But that wasn't all! I couldn't pay attention because of that thing you did with the cards! How'd you do it?! How could you read your cards when they were still face down?!”

“That is my secret,” said Maiku. _One step closer to the prize money,_ he thought. Suddenly, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to see _those five_ from before. Little Yugi's friends. Yugi and Jounouchi were glaring at him. He smirked. He had an idea.

Walking towards the group, he asked, “How are your duels going, Yugi?” in a false enthusiasm that reminded the other Yugi eerily of Kaiba from the time she tried to steal Sugako's Blue-Eyes card. Except his was much more animated.

“Not bad...” said the other Yugi, on guard. This sudden enthusiasm to meet up with her was suspicious...

_Yugi has three star chips,_ Maiku thought. _She hasn't been in a duel since Haga... but Jounouchi only has one star chip..._ He decided to alter his course of action.

_Come on, say it!_ thought the other Yugi. _Do you want to duel with me?_

“Okay, I've decided,” said Maiku. “I want to have a duel!”

_Finally,_ thought the other Yugi.

Suddenly, turning slightly and pointing, Maiku said, “I challenge you! Jounouchi!”

“What...?” said Jounouchi. “Me...?!” Jounouchi was generally a bit less astute than Yugi, but even she could tell Maiku was up to something.

“Jounouchi?!” said Ansei.

The other Yugi was alarmed.

“You won't run away, will you...?” asked Maiku. “Or are you a coward...?” With people like Jounouchi, it seemed the best way to rile them up was to question their courage. “As a duelist, of course I want to fight Yugi! But with the rules of this island, that's not a good strategy... look what happened to Insector Haga! First I need to crush the _weaklings_ and collect my star chips! I'll fight Yugi after that...”

_Urk...!_ thought Jounouchi, furrowing her brow.

_Heh heh..._ thought Maiku. It seemed his plan was working.

_What a...!_ thought the other Yugi. _But he's right. That's the way this island works!_

“Jounouchi can't beat him!” said Ansei. “Don't accept his challenge!”

“Jounouchi!” said Honda. “If you lose even once, it's over!”

Bakura was silent. Ansei and Honda had a point, Jounouchi _was_ new at this game, but she could still potentially win! After all, Maiku may have had enough victories to have four star chips, but he got them beating unskilled duelists!

“You tell him, Yugi!” said Ansei.

The other Yugi was silent. After a brief pause, she said, “Jounouchi! Do your best!”

“Yeah!” said Jounouchi. “I _knew_ you'd say that, Yugi!”

“Yugi...!” said Ansei.

“Jounouchi!” said Honda.

“If I run away here,” explained Jounouchi, “then from now on, whenever I look at the sky, or the mountains, or the horizon out on the sea... whenever I see such a good view, I'd remember that I was the coward who ran away! I don't want to be a wimp! Yeah, there's a part of me that's afraid... but it's like Yugi said once: 'Courage is when you face your fears! You can't be courageous without fear!' Right, Yugi?”

The other Yugi nodded.

“Jounouchi...” said Ansei.

Maiku looked at Jounouchi with a smirk. Fools like her talked a big game, but in the end couldn't live up to their own words.

“I accept your challenge!” said Jounouchi.

With that Jounouchi and Maiku entered the duel box.

“Good luck, Jounouchi!” said Ansei.

“Beat him, dude!” said Honda.

“Awright!” said Jounouchi.

_Jounouchi..._ thought the other Yugi.

“You only have one star chip, don't you?” asked Maiku. “Then I'll bet one star chip too!”

_If I lose this star chip,_ thought Jounouchi, _it's over!_

“The field we'll fight on is 40% mountains, 40% grassland, and 20% wasteland,” Maiku explained.

“What's with this field?!” said Jounouchi, wide-eyed. “This is unreal! It's 3D!”

_Calm down, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _It's all right! You have the grassland to give your cards an advantage in your territory!_

“Maiku Jaku...” said Jounouchi. “Can I ask you something before we start the duel?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you come to this island?” she asked. “For honor? For the prize money?”

“Both!” he said. “What else do you think? If I win the prize money, I'll travel the world, or live in Paris for years and buy all the chanel and vuitton that I want!”

“Heh... that's a pretty weak reason to be here,” said Jounouchi.

“So what are _you_ here for?!” snapped Maiku. What the hell was Jounouchi thinking?!

“I'm here to save a life!” said Jounouchi. She didn't know where she was going with this, but she would go with the flow, like she always did.

Maiku raised his brows. _Interesting..._ he thought.

“Let's start the duel!” said Jounouchi.

Jounouchi and Maiku each shuffled each other's decks, handed them back, and drew their five cards for their starting hand. Jounouchi noticed something.

“Huh?!” she said. Maiku wasn't looking at his cards when he was drawing them, and when he had his starting hand, he set the cards face-down between himself and the spell and trap card zone.

“Wh-why aren't you looking at your cards?!” she asked.

“It's simple,” said Maiku. “I already know my hand.”

_No way!_ thought Jounouchi.

The others were shocked, as well.

“My turn,” said Maiku. “For my first card, I summon the Harpy Lady! She gets a power boost from the mountains!” And indeed, Harpy Lady's attack points, originally 1300, rose to 1690.

“Urk...” said Jounouchi. _How did he know...?_ she wondered. Out loud, she said, “I play Tiger Axe! He gets a power boost from the plains!” Tiger Axe's attack points, like Harpy Lady's, rose from 1300 to 1690. “Attack!” she said.

_It's no good,_ Jounouchi! thought the other Yugi. _The Harpy Lady can fly! The axe attack won't reach...!_

Maiku laughed. “Scratch Clash! Tiger Axe is killed instantly!”

Tiger Axe vanished as Jounouchi's life points fell to 1610.

_Heh heh..._ thought Maiku. _This girl is completely distracted by my card technique! What's more, she's an amateur! She's no match for me!_

_Don't be fooled by that card trick,_ Jounouchi! thought the other Yugi. _There has to be a way you can win!_

_How?!_ thought Jounouchi. _How does he do it? How can he read his cards when they're face down?_

_Heh heh..._ thought Maiku. _This girl's totally distracted trying to figure out my card trick... that's going to help me do her in!_

“Okay!” said Jounouchi. “My next card is Demon Hunter Kojikocy!” Its attack points raised from 1500 to 1950, with its defense points remaining at 1200.

_No, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _Maiku Jaku is going for a combo! It's useless to attack with just one card!_

Maiku laughed. “Then I'll play this! Electro-Whip! Harpy Lady's attack goes up 300 points!” Now Harpy Lady's attack points were at 1990. He laughed again. “Prepare to die! The Demon Hunter is destroyed!”

Now Jounouchi's life points were at 1120.

_Again!_ thought Jounouchi. _He knew what card it was before he turned it over!_

Maiku chuckled. “You won't be able to beat my Harpy Lady with a card like that! Each turn, she becomes more beautiful... more elegant... and most of all, stronger!”

“Oh yeah?” said Jounouchi. “Well take this! Warrior of Gardna!”

“With pleasure!” said Maiku. “Cyber Bondage! Harpy Lady's attack and defense get even better!” Now, Harpy Lady's attack points were at 2490 and her defense points were at 1900. “Cyber Lightning Whip! Destroy the Warrior!”

Now Jounouchi's life points were at 810.

Maiku laughed. “Learned your lesson?” he asked.

_How? How?!_ wondered Jounouchi. _How can he read his cards face down?! Does he have ESP or something?!_

_No! Calm down, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _It's just a trick! Don't let it get to you!_

_I'm just not good enough..._ thought Jounouchi. _I can't beat him..._

“C'mon, Jounouchi!” said a voice. Maiku looked out of the corner of his eye. It was that boy who was part of Yugi's group.

“Hey, you out there!” Maiku said, pointing at Ansei. Ansei looked surprised. “What was it you said...? 'If you shout, the duelist will hear your _feelings...?_ And you'll help them win...?” Maiku's tone was derisive. “Then _make_ this wimp win! She needs all the 'feelings' you've got!” Ansei looked hurt. “Well?” Maiku continued. “Do you see now? That kind of thing's useless.” Turning to Jounouchi, he said, “And here's some more free advice, _girl..._ you can't become a true duelist and play with your friends at the same time! Today's friends are tomorrow's enemies! That's what it means to be a duelist! When you play the game of Duel Monsters, you either win, or you die! There is no middle ground! Duelists can't trust anyone but themselves! Take that to heart from today's defeat!”

Jounouchi let out a “Ggkk...” She had no counterargument. The most she had was anecdotes, many of them hard to believe unless you had been there.

Ansei let out an “Agggh!” of helpless frustration. He, too, only had hard-to-believe anecdotes.

“I'll make Jounouchi win!” said the other Yugi. “With just one phrase!”

“Huh?!” said Maiku. _Just one phrase?_ he thought. _What, is she going to say some sappy words about “friendship,” too?_

“Yugi...?” asked Ansei.

“Jounouchi!” said the other Yugi. “This is a riddle! Answer it! What's 'something you can show, but you can't see?'”

Jounouchi was confused. _Something you can show but can't see?_

Maiku laughed. “Yeah, _that's_ a strategy!” he said. “ _That's_ going to make her win, all right! Sounds _great!_ I wanna see this! I'm waiting!”

Jounouchi was silent. _Yugi..._ she thought. _I know the answer to that... friendship... but... not even that can make me win... I'm sorry, Yugi... I'm too dumb to figure out what you mean... I don't know what you're trying to tell me... Shizu... I wish you were here... I wish I could see you... Shizu... I'm a rotten sister... I can't even fix your eyes..._ She recalled what Shizu had said in that video. _“I wanted to see your face... for one last time...” The world of blindness... I wonder if it's pitch-black like this... I can't let you go to that kind of world... Shizu..._ She recalled the series of decisions that led her here. Watching the tape and learning about Shizu's failing eyesight. Begging Yugi to teach him how to duel. Putting together a new, better deck. Boarding that 9:30 ship to this remote island. Trading cards with other people to further improve her deck. Watching Yugi duel Haga. Accepting Maiku's challenge. Wait. _Huh?But all the cards are supposed to be the same._ But what if they _weren't_ all the same?

“C'mon,” said Maiku. “It's your turn! I haven't got all day!”

“I get it!” said Jounouchi. “I know your card trick!”

“What?!” said Maiku.

“By altering the cards in advance, you're able to tell which cards are in your hand by _feeling_ them!" said Jounouchi. "You can _show_ the cards, but you can't _see_ the sensation of the card markings! Something you can show but can't see!”

_No way!_ thought Maiku. _She's just a newbie! She couldn't have seen through it!_

“Man!” said Jounouchi. “That weirded me out so much, I couldn't pay attention to the battle! I thought it was some _occult_ stuff! You freaked me out! But now I'm onto your game, you faker!”

“All right, Jounouchi!” exclaimed Ansei.

“Go for it, man!” said Honda.

_Thanks, Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi. She could have sworn Yugi winked at her, as if to say, “You got it!”

“Oh yeah?!” snapped Mai. “So you saw through my trick, big deal! You still couldn't beat me in one hundred years!”

“It's strange,” said Jounouchi. “Just having my friends watching over me... it makes me feel like you're not so tough after all! I'll take you up on that one hundred years thing!”

Maiku was alarmed. Jounouchi was so much more confident now. _She's still a wimp,_ he thought. _She's just a wimp with friends. Most of whom don't even duel!_

“Here I come!” she said. “I play the Baby Dragon!” It had 1200 attack points and 700 defense points.

_That card...!_ thought the other Yugi. Jounouchi was traded that card!

_Watch me, Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi. _I'm not gonna waste the opportunity to save my brother's eyesight!_

Maiku laughed. “Good choice – a card for _babies!_ Well, at least you were smart enough to play it in defense mode, so you won't get hurt when I kill it! So _instead_ of killing it, I'll play this card! Elegant Egotist! Now I have three Harpy Ladies! The Harpy Lady Sisters!”

“What?! Now there's three of them?!” Jounouchi said. _I've got a bad feeling about this,_ she thought.

“Oh no...” said Ansei. “She's already no match against one Harpy...!”

“Jounouchi! Hang in there!” said Honda.

Jounouchi gulped.

“I can't attack on the turn I play Elegant Egotist,” said Maiku. “C'mon, it's your move.”

Jounouchi drew a card. “I play Garoozis!” she said. It had 1800 attack points and 1500 defense points.

Maiku laughed. “Prey, my Harpies!”

Jounouchi gulped again. She was at 120 life points. _I don't have a card that can beat three Harpies..._ she thought.

Maiku laughed again. “That's the Harpy Ladies' 10-hit combo!” he exclaimed. “It's like I said! Every turn they get stronger and more beautiful!”

_I can't win..._ thought Jounouchi. _My back's against the wall...!_

_Don't give up, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _Maiku Jaku's combo is based on powering up one Harpy Lady with lots of spell cards! But because it's that simple, it has a critical weakness! Namely, aside from the Harpy Ladies, he has no other monsters in his deck! If his Harpy Lady dies, his whole strategy falls apart! You can win if you draw that card! The card I gave you that day!_

Jounouchi remembered the one card that could help her out of the situation. _The Time Wizard!_

“C'mon!” said Maiku. “You've got one turn left to live! Why don't you just give up and give me your star chip right now?”

_But I don't have the Time Wizard in my hand right now!_ Jounouchi thought. _I'll have to draw it... I only have one chance!_ Wincing, she drew a card. _Here goes!_ she thought. _Please be it!_

“Yes!” said Jounouchi. “It's the Time Wizard!” She set it in attack mode.

_Time Wizard...?_ thought Maiku. _What...?_

“Don't you know?” said Jounouchi. “It can speed up time! It zooms forward one hundred years and turns the Baby Dragon into an adult!”

_You forgot, Jounouchi,_ thought the other Yugi. _That's not all the Time Wizard does..._

“Go, Time Wizard!” exclaimed Jounouchi. “Time magic! Baby Dragon becomes the Thousand Dragon!” Thousand Dragon had 2400 attack points.

“Hmph!” said Maiku. “So what?! That senile dragon is nothing! My Harpies' attack is stronger! Kill it, Harpy Lady Sisters!” But they did not attack. “Huh...?! Wh-what?!” he said.

The Harpy Ladies were now very visibly aged. They only had their base 1300 attack, even with all the spell cards equipped to them!

“M-my Harpies are weak... and old...!”

_Heh heh..._ thought the other Yugi. _Just as I thought! One hundred years passed on the spot and the Harpy Ladies grew old and lost their powers_

_Whoa!_ thought Jounouchi. “I-I'm surprised too... I didn't know it'd do that...” Recovering quickly from the shock, Jounouchi said, “All right! Go, Thousand Dragon! Thousand Nose Breath!” The Harpy Ladies were set on fire. Those had been Maiku's only monsters, and with no monsters left to play, he lost the duel.

“Yes! He did it!” exclaimed Ansei.

“Jounouchi won!” said Honda.

“Thanks, Yugi!” said Jounouchi.

The other Yugi gave a wink and a thumbs up, as if to say, “You're welcome!”

Before she left the duel box, Jounouchi said, “Maiku Jaku... I may not be a 'true' duelist but let me tell you this... there's _one_ thing that doesn't change even after one hundred years...”

“What?” asked Maiku.

“It's something you can show, but you can't see!” said Jounouchi, smiling. She would leave Maiku to figure it out on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the method that Maiku uses to mark his cards, not because he's male, but because the original method (spraying the cards with perfume) _doesn't make any sense._ In theory, it could, but in reality, it wouldn't for several reasons:
> 
> One, the smells would blend together, destroying the main point of spraying them.
> 
> Two, your nose would get used to the smells, meaning that eventually you wouldn't be able to smell them, period, until you spent enough time away from the cards.
> 
> Three, if they were sprayed too much, they would get wet and ruin the print job (meaning you're caught with marked and potentially illegible cards), unless you sprayed the card sleeves, which might not absorb the perfume as well.
> 
> Four, if they were sprayed too little, the smell would fade too fast, and you are forced to abandon the “strategy” mid-duel.
> 
> Five, constantly buying lots of different perfumes (minimum 14, assuming you had 14 cards with different names and three copies of all but one of them, or three copies of 12 of them and two copies of the remaining two, or some other mathematical combination I don't care to find out, all of which run into the issue of flexibility of your strategy) would be _freaking expensive._
> 
> Marking the cards so the difference can be _felt_ makes sense because there's no way the method stops working unless you suddenly go numb in your hands mid-duel, in which case you probably have worse problems than your cheating method stopped working. I would have gone with subtle marks on the cards, but then that doesn't fit the “something you can show, but can't see” part.
> 
> The mention of Ansei and Bakura's decks was originally supposed to foreshadow Ansei's duel with Maiku and Yami Bakura's Duel Monsters tarot scene respectively, scenes that were from the anime. However, I ended up cutting both of those scenes. The former achieves its goal (having Yugi accept the star chips from Mai) in a weaker way for Yugi's character development than the manga (where Jounouchi talks Yugi into accepting the star chips, which helps Yugi become more assertive), and the latter became redundant, as in the manga, Pegasus delivers the exposition about his backstory himself, while in the anime, it's achieved in a weaker way by having the main characters read Pegasus' diary after Bakura exposits some of Pegasus' backstory solely for the benefit of the audience, when in-universe, he has no reason to exposit Pegasus' backstory to the man himself, who should already know this, being the non-amnesiac character the backstory is about.
> 
> On the bright side, these would've also doubled as foreshadowing for Yami Bakura's duel in Battle City and Ansei's duel in the Virtual World arc, and can still serve these purposes!


	32. The Duelist from the Black Lagoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Jounouchi has beaten Maiku in a duel, the group finds fish at the beach! But the fisher there is _not_ pleased about having her fish stolen... though she does seem pleased that Yugi is there!

Noon of the first day. 56 hours remain.

The other Yugi had three star chips, and Jounouchi now had two.

Jounouchi chuckled.

"Jounouchi's spent the last thirty minutes just looking at her star chips and grinning!” said Ansei.

“I don't blame her!” said Honda. “I still can't believe she beat that man in her first battle!”

“Jounouchi!” said the other Yugi. “Let's win the next one too!”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Jounouchi.

They spent some time walking. Jounouchi's stomach began growling.

“Hey, I'm getting hungry,” said Jounouchi. “When do we have lunch?”

“What do you mean?” asked Honda. “We didn't bring food!”

“We ate all the snacks on the boat, and there's no restaurants on this island!” said Ansei.

“What?!” said Jounouchi. “We don't have anything?!”

“That's a problem...” said the other Yugi. “The game lasts two whole days! We can't not eat or drink for 48 hours!”

“Actually,” said Ansei, “you _theoretically_ could go for _weeks_ without food. But yeah, you're right about drinking!” Letting out an exasperated sigh, Ansei said, “You'd think the person running this tournament would either provide food for the tournament-goers or at least warn us that we should bring our own food!”

“Oh well!” said Honda. “If it comes down to it, we'll use this book I brought to find out what plants and mushrooms we can eat!”

“N-no way!” said Jounouchi. “I'm not eating no mushrooms!” Suddenly, she smelled something. “What's that?” she asked. “Something smells good!” Taking some more time to sniff the air, she said, “It's coming from the ocean! Let's go, guys!”

“What smell...?” asked Ansei.

“I smell it too!” said Honda. “You never did have much of a sense of smell anyway...”

Eventually, the five made their way to the source of the smell, a campfire by the ocean.

“Look at that!” exclaimed Jounouchi. “I found food!”

“Sh-she's right!” said Ansei. Indeed, there was fish over the fire.

“Nobody's here!” said Jounouchi. “Now's our chance!”

“Jounouchi!” said Ansei. “You're not gonna – stop! That's not yours!”

“Au contraire, Ansei!” said Jounouchi. “The law of the island is, whoever steals the star chips wins! So stealing food's _gotta_ be okay! It's all part of the game of life!”

“I'm never playing a game with you...” muttered Ansei.

Bakura gulped.

“I'm with Jounouchi!” said Honda.

“You too?!” said Ansei.

“Oh boy...” said the other Yugi.

Jounouchi, now at the campfire, said, “Man, that looks good! It smells great!” Taking a stick with a fish on it, Jounouchi said, “Let's dig in!”

Elsewhere, a woman saw the commotion at the campfire. “What the – ?!” she said. “Why you... you... You jerks! Stop eating my fish!” But before she could be seen, a wave rose up and when it fell, it took her with it.

“Hm...? asked Jounouchi. “Did you hear something...?”

Grabbing the cliff edge, muttering, “Stupid wave,” the woman climbed back up, looking distinctly pissed off.

“All right!” she said, pointing her spear at Jounouchi, her most recent catch still on it. “Put it down! Lowlifes! Eating someone else's fish!”

“Huh?” said Jounouchi.

“You're not getting out of here alive!” said the woman.

“Wait!” protested Jounouchi. “We haven't eaten it yet!”

“Then give it back!” snapped the woman.

_What...?_ thought the other Yugi. _She has star chips!_ Indeed, she was wearing a dueling glove with at least two star chips in it. The other Yugi wondered if she had lost any when the wave pulled her down.

“What are you, anyway?” said the woman.

“You're not a duelist?” asked Jounouchi.

“What if I am?!” asked the woman.

“No way!” said Jounouchi. “You're a castaway, right?”

“Who's the castaway?!” said the woman. “I'm Ryona Kajiki! Duelist of the sea!”

_Ryona Kajiki,_ thought the other Yugi. _At first glance, she doesn't look like the kind of person who plays card games... but I guess you never know..._

“So let me get this straight,” said Kajiki. “You guys are – huh?”

Jounouchi was snickering. “Octopus...” she said. “There's an octopus on your head...”

Kajiki looked up. Comically irritated expression on her face, she tore the octopus out of her hair (the hair itself thankfully intact, and Kajiki supposed she was glad the octopus was in one piece too), flinging it back into the ocean.

“Don't throw it away! We can eat it – !” protested Jounouchi. The octopus, however, was spared that fate, as Kajiki ignored her completely.

“As I was saying...” said Kajiki, calmer but still irritated, “you guys are duelists too?”

“Huh?” she said, when she noticed something out of the corners of her eyes. _It's her!_ Kajiki thought. _That girl... Yugi! I might've just made a big catch!_

“Now then...” she said, “these fish are just about done!” She prepared to bite into her fish when she noticed Yugi's friends, the ones who tried to eat the fish, behind her, looking like they could eat a horse. She was briefly silent, before saying, “All right, all right! You guys can eat too!”

“You mean it?!” said Jounouchi. She and Honda dug in. “Aww, thanks man!”

“Leave some for us!” protested Ansei.

Kajiki chuckled.

After the meal, Jounouchi asked, “So, Kajiki, did you enter this tournament for the prize too?

“You bet!” said Kajiki. “I'm gonna spend the prize money on a boat! Then I'll be able to fish again! I hear the prize is huge! I'm gonna get the latest sonar-equipped boat! I'll get a big catch every day!”

“A boat, huh?” said Jounouchi.

“That's a cool way to live!” said Ansei.

“I grew up watching the sea from the day I was born,” said Kajiki. “It's just like a person to me... I can tell when it laughs and when it cries. But it works both ways! The ocean watches us too! A couple of years ago I was out fishing with my mom, like usual... the ocean was in a good mood... but then, its mood changed. The sea rose up and swallowed our boat! My mom and I were saved by a passing ship... we were lucky... but our boat was gone! We couldn't fish anymore! It could be a coincidence... but not too long before our boat sank, there was an oil spill not far from there! Those idiots angered the sea! _They_ did it! With their damn pollution!”

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

“Well, anyway,” Kajiki said, “forget about me! Sorry to bore you!”

“Well, we better get going!” said Jounouchi. “So long, and thanks for all the fish!”

“Yeah? You're going...?” asked Kajiki.

As the five walked away, Kajiki said, “Hold on a sec!” Chuckling, she said, “I don't have time for small fry...” Tossing her spear so that it would land near Yugi, she said, “ _You're_ not getting away! Yugi! Halt!”

The other Yugi turned towards Kajiki.

Kajiki chuckled. “Yugi, I'm not dumb enough to let a fish get away after eating my bait!" she said. "More so if it's a big catch like you! Heh! This place is my turf! So I left bait for hungry duelists like you! This way _you_ guys come to _me_ – on the beach where the fight's in my favor!”

“You sayin' we're fish?!" asked Jounouchi, outraged. "Why you – !” _Well, at least she's not gonna_ eat _us..._

“Yugi! Let's duel!” said Kajiki. “You're the catch I'm talking about!”

“Very well!” said Yugi. “I accept, Kajiki!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit, the title was a reference to the Black Lagoon children's book series. I remembered reading them as a child. Though oddly, I don't remember them having anything to do with the ocean apart from the title having "Black Lagoon" in it...
> 
> Now that I think about it, though, this would be a fitting chapter title from a fic I'll be working on in the future, considering that the Black Lagoon books were named "The **[School Faculty]** from the Black Lagoon... I just might do that!
> 
> And yeah, I'm enough of an absolute _nerd_ to include Ansei correcting Yugi about how long you can survive without food! Though, please, people, _eat!_ Take care of yourself!


	33. Oceanic Lunacy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and Kajiki start their duel! But how will Yugi win when Kajiki's monsters are hiding beneath the ocean?

Yugi and Kajiki sat down in a duel box on a small cliff on the shore.

"My side of the field is the ocean!" said Kajiki. "Your side is wasteland! Is that okay?"

"Yes," said the other Yugi.

_Oh yeah!_ thought Kajiki. _In a fight on my terrain, you're as good as already in my net!_ Out loud, she said, “I bet two star chips,” setting that them on the table.

“Okay,” said the other Yugi, also setting two star chips down.

“Go, Yugi!” said Ansei.

“Beat that fish lady!” said Jounouchi.

“Here I go!” said Kajiki.

“Ready!” said the other Yugi.

They both shuffled each other's decks and drew five cards for their starting hand.

“Here's my card!” said Kajiki. “The Devil Kraken!” Devil Kraken had 1200 attack points and 1400 defense points.

“I play the Feral Imp!” said the other Yugi. It had 1300 attack points and 1000 defense points. “Imp, attack!”

_Heh heh..._ thought Kajiki.

The other Yugi was shocked to find that the Devil Kraken had disappeared. _What?_ she thought. _Where's her monster? Her card's there... in attack mode... but there's no hologram of a monster?_ Had the Battle Box broken? _How can I fight?_

“Now...” said Kajiki, “like I told you, my Kraken gets a power-up when it fights in the sea! Go!”

There seemed to be rippling from the card.

Devil Kraken arose from the sea, with 1560 attack.

_Impossible,_ thought the other Yugi. _It was hiding the whole time!_

“Drag him into the depths!” said Kajiki. “The imp dies!”

_Ggh..._ thought the other Yugi. _It went back under the water!_ Her life points were now at 1740.

“This is part of my field power source!” said Kajiki. “The Sea Stealth Attack! When I'm through with you, you'll have a proper fear and respect of the sea!”

_Sea Stealth Attack..._ thought the other Yugi. _How can I fight monsters I can't even see?!_

“Did you see that?!” asked Ansei. “That squid thing came out of the water when it attacked!”

“She can't fight back if her enemy's underwater!” said Honda.

“Rats...” said Jounouchi. “That freaky fish lady in there isn't just some wanna-be fisher... her card skill is really good too!”

Kajiki chuckled.

“Hmph,” muttered the other Yugi.

“This is just the beginning, Yugi!” said Kajiki. “You still haven't seen the true terror of the sea! C'mon, Yugi! Bring out your next monster!”

_As long as I can't see what I'm fighting,_ thought the other Yugi, _my best move is to just put out this Feral Imp in defense mode..._ She did exactly that. _Heh heh..._ she thought. But on my next turn I'll teach you a lesson!

“Heh!” said Kajiki. _I know what you're trying to do...!_ she thought. Out loud, she said, “My next card is this! The Jellyfish! What they call the “moon of the sea!” I play it in defense mode!” The Jellyfish had 1200 attack and 1500 defense.

“Hmm...” said the other Yugi. _Unlike the Kraken, it's not hiding under the water..._ she thought. _But that worries me..._

“C'mon!” said Kajiki. “The jellyfish isn't scared! Serve it however you like! Boil it! Grill it!”

"You asked for it!" said the other Yugi. "I play Horn of the Unicorn and switch Feral Imp to attack mode!"

"So that's her plan," said Bakura.

"What?" asked Honda.

"Kajiki's monsters can hide in the sea all they want, but the fact that they're water monsters is a weakness as well as a strength!" explained Bakura. "Yugi's going to use electricity to attack the water itself!"

"Whoa, good idea!" said Jounouchi. "Those underwater monsters are in real trouble if the whole ocean's electrocuted!"

"Do it, gremlin!" said the other Yugi. "Attack the sea with your electric shock!"

Kajiki smirked.

"What?" said the other Yugi. "The jellyfish is absorbing the electricity!"

Kajiki laughed. "When the jellyfish is on the board, it acts like a lightning rod, negating the water monsters' greatest weakness! And that's not all! The electricity actually _feeds_ the jellyfish! It grows bigger, powering up both its attack and defense!"

Well. Crap. This was not going well.

"What the heck?!" said Jounouchi. "Not even electricity works!"

Kajiki laughed. "It's my turn now!" she said. "Devil Kraken! Squid Legs Submission Hold! The gremlin is gone!"

The other Yugi's life points were now at 1480.

Kajiki laughed again. "No one can beat me at sea!"

_She's strong,_ thought the other Yugi. _There's no holes in her attack or defense! The great ocean… is there no way to shatter this gigantic and immeasurable fortress of water…?! All right! Now that I'm in this position, my strategy will be to fall back as far as I can!_ She drew a card. Out loud, she said, "First I play Silver Fang, and then I play Mystical Moon!" This increased Silver Fang's attack points from 1200 to 1560 and its defense points from 800 to 1040. She had a plan.

Kajiki laughed. "You'll only waste your precious life points with that kind of card! You can't overcome the power of the sea!" She drew a card. "Get ready, Yugi. This cards going to show you the _true_ terror of the deep sea! Rise from the ocean floor, Leviathan!" Leviathan, thanks to the ocean field power source, had 2340 attack points and 1950 defense points. Kajiki chuckled. "Yes!" she said. "The great god of the primordial ocean! It's customary for those who live off the sea to pray before going out to fish… those who anger the god face his wrath! The wrath of Leviathan! Silver Fang drowns!"

The other Yugi's life points were now at 340.

"Oh no! Yugi!" said Ansei.

"Geez!" said Jounouchi. "It's so one-sided…"

Kajiki chuckled. "Yugi, that attack wasn't intended just to defeat your monster! Look down at the field!"

_Wh… what the…?!_ The ocean level had risen, now covering the whole field. She didn't expect the ocean level to rise _that_ much. But her plan could still work.

Kajiki laughed. "That's the wrath of Leviathan! With just that one attack, the field has become 95% sea! What now, Yugi? I bet you don't have a single water monster in your deck! According to the new rules, if it's your turn and you can't play a card on the board, you lose!"

_Ggk…_ thought the other Yugi. Her plan had gone somewhat awry, what with her current lack of monsters, but she kept a poker face.

"Come on, Yugi!" said Ansei.

"Man!" said Jounouchi. "Stealing the field! I didn't know you could win like that…! There's barely anything left of Yugi's side of the board!"

"Too bad, Yugi!" said Kajiki. "You may be pretty tough on land, but you can't compete with the power of the sea!" _Funny thing, though… normally when I use Leviathan, it doesn't cover this much of the board… but I'm sure not going to complain!_

The other Yugi drew a card. "Here's my card! Giant Soldier of Stone! Defense mode! The Stone Soldier adjusts to the remaining 5% of the wasteland! Its attack and defense go up!" Its attack and defense, indeed, rose from 1300 and 2000 to 1690 and 2600, respectively. "It's your turn!"

"Oh, it is, huh?" said Kajiki. "I get it! Next turn, you're gonna move the soldier into the water and use it as an island! Good idea!" She laughed. "But that strategy is useless! I'm gonna play even more monsters! Advance, sea monsters!"

The other Yugi remained stoic.

"Aww, no!" said Jounouchi. "They've got her on all three sides!"

Kajiki laughed. "My monsters have surrounded your Stone Soldier! Now it can't move at all! There's no way for you to increase the size of the land! Yes! I win! I beat Yugi…!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"…Huh?" said Kajiki.

The other Yugi chuckled.

"'Heh heh' yourself!" said Kajiki. "Don't laugh unless you've got something to laugh _about!_ "

"Kajiki!" said the other Yugi. "I was waiting for this moment!"

"What do you mean?!" asked Kajiki. "You're trapped! There's nothing you can do!"

"I switch the Stone Soldier into attack mode!" said the other Yugi.

"Are you dumb?!" asked Kajiki. "My monsters are submerged! You can't see them! You shouldn't be able to attack them at all!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "I didn't say I was going to attack your _monsters…_ "

"Huh…?!" said Kajiki.

"I'm going to attack the moon! The card I played myself! Giant Soldier of Stone! Rock-Crushing Sword!"

_What?!_ thought Kajiki. Out loud, she said, "The sea…! The tide is pulling away…!"

"The gravitation of the Mystical Moon raised the water level!" explained the other Yugi. "Just like the real moon affects the ocean's tides! My moon card created a high tide, and improved your Leviathan's tidal wave power! Now that the moon is gone, Leviathan's power is reduced to half of what it was! The sea water has pulled away, leaving your monsters stranded helplessly on the shore!"

_Wh-what…?!_ thought Kajiki. _She… she used her own card to help me take over her terrain?! She got me…!_

"Out of the water, your monsters are nothing but small fry!" said the other Yugi. "I'll use these cards to finish you off!" She summoned Curse of Dragon. "Accursed dragon! Flames of Hell!" She finished off the last of the monsters, leaving Kajiki with 0 life points.

"Yes! Yugi won!" said Ansei.

Jounouchi laughed. "Smells like barbequed squid!"

"She came from behind and did it!" said Bakura.

"Heh…" said Kajiki. "Man! You really are good!" she exclaimed, grinning broadly. "You really are a big fish!"

"You're not so bad yourself!" said the other Yugi, also smiling.

Kajiki chuckled. "Oh well…" she said. "You took my down to my last star chip! But I'm not out of the game yet! I've gotta win to afford that big boat! I'll start over with one chip! And either you or me are gonna win!"

The other Yugi smiled, graciously accepting Kajiki's star chips and inserting them into her dueling glove. "Let's both do our best!" she said, gripping Kajiki's hand with her own in a handshake.

"Yeah!" said Kajiki.

The other Yugi now had 5 star chips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know? "Lunatic" and the words derived from it are derived from "luna," meaning "moon." This references how the duel ends!
> 
> Also, I'm using the admittedly rather kooky Duelist Kingdom rules, because I suck at writing duels from scratch. My headcanon is that the reason they're so weird and inconsistent is that Pegasus is rather eccentric and may not be all there in the head. Duelist Kingdom rules and Battle City rules are essentially two different formats, created for different purposes. [If Duelist Kingdom rules prioritize fun over consistency, then Battle City prioritizes consistency over semi-realism.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedOniBlueOni) Pegasus was going for "how would these interact in a semi-realistic environment" while Kaiba was going for consistent rules according to the letter of the cards. Essentially, if Duelist Kingdom is a tabletop game, where rulings may not always make sense but can be entertaining in their own right, then Battle City is a video game, where the rulings are consistent and feel less arbitrary.
> 
> It also fits because Duelist Kingdom rulings, at times, feel almost like an exaggerated cartoon, while Battle City rules feel more like a real card game. Considering that Pegasus is a whimsical person who's enjoyed cartoons from a young age, while Kaiba is a more serious person who would probably prefer games with consistent rules, this makes sense.


	34. The Phantom Thief of Cards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody has been stealing star chips! But when the thief is unmasked, the group meets a familiar face...

Noon of the first day. 55 hours remain.

The five left after saying goodbye to Kajiki.

"What a woman… Ryona Kajiki!" said Jounouchi. "There's something about her that you just can't hate!"

"I guess all the duelists on this island are here with their own hopes and dreams…" said Ansei.

"Us too!" said Jounouchi. "All right! Let's go to our next destination!"

The five walked for a while, keeping an eye out for any more duelists.

Suddenly, the five heard a voice.

"Let go of me!" said a young boy in the distance. "S-somebody help me!"

"What the…?!" said Jounouchi.

"That's enough!" said a security guard, who had his arm around the kid's neck. Great. It was the Hair Guy. "Be quiet, kid!"

"Let go of me!" the boy said again.

"Tough luck!" said the Hair Guy. "I can see your glove's empty! Now that you've lost all your star chips, you've got to get off the island!"

"Th-that's not it…!" said the kid. "This weird kid stole them from me! He took my star chips, and my cards too!"

"I don't care how you lost them!" said the Hair Guy. "If you run out of star chips, you have to leave Duelist Kingdom! That's the rules! Just give up!" Well, no wonder Haga managed to get back into the tournament. There wasn't any rule against theft, or if there was, it wasn't enforced!

"That guy in the suit must work for Pegasus," said Honda.

"Oh yeah…?" said Jounouchi. She walked up to the Hair Guy. "Hey you!" she said. "Let him go! Can't you hear? His chips got stolen! It's not the same as losing in a match!"

"Other participants are forbidden to interfere – unless you want to be disqualified too!" said the Hair Guy.

"Please… help… me…" said the kid, who sounded like he could hardly breathe.

"Hey!" said Jounouchi to the kid. "What'd the guy who stole them look like? I'll go and catch him for you!"

"Really?" asked the kid. "I couldn't see his face, he had a bandanna on it… he challenged me to a duel out of nowhere… but the moment I put down my cards and star chips, he took them and ran off!"

"Which way did he go?" asked Jounouchi.

"He went that way!" said the kid, pointing to Jounouchi's right.

"Hey you!" said Jounouchi to the Hair Guy. "Man in black! I'll go catch the thief – so don't kick this kid off the island!"

"Eh… I'll think about it…" said the Hair Guy.

"Don't forget!" said Jounouchi. "I promise you as a woman of her word! Star chips are like a duelist's life! I wouldn't forgive anybody for killing people… or stealing star chips! I'll beat him up!" Turning towards her friends, Jounouchi said, "All right, let's go!" With that, the five set off. Unbeknownst to them, the thief was watching from the bushes…

The Hair Guy, who did, in fact, have a name, Saruwatari, turned on a handheld radio. "Ms. Pegasus," he said, "we've tracked down that kid in Block D."

"Please send all personnel to Block D!" said Pegasus.

"Yes ma'am!" said Saruwatari. "We will capture the kid once again!" _Where'd that thief run off to now…?_ he wondered. He turned to the kid. "And now, you're coming with me! No deck, no star chips, no competing!"

"W-wait!" protested the kid.

Meanwhile, in Pegasus' castle, the owner sat at the far end of a dining table. She drank a sip of wine as she continued to read her comic. She laughed.

"Oh, my dear Funny Rabbit…" she said. "How droll and witty can you be?!" Once she stopped laughing, she said, "The finest wine… well-aged gorgonzola cheese… and the world's best comic, made in America… Funny Rabbit! Truly I am blessed among people!" She was technically born in America, but she grew up in Japan. Turning towards a security guard, she asked, "By the way, what is the status of the duels?"

"Ma'am, it's been six hours since the duels began. Out of forty participants, twelve have dropped out of the tournament! The first ship of evacuees will be departing shortly…"

"Of course, Yugi is still in the running… is she not?" asked Pegasus.

"Yes ma'am!" said the security guard. "She has collected five star chips so far!"

"Oh! Wonderful!" said Pegasus. "She must make it to the finals, so she can come to my castle! And one more thing… you haven't found _that girl_ yet, have you?"

"No ma'am, so far, not yet…"

"And after I invited her to my castle as my private guest…" said Pegasus. "To think she ran away… she must really have disliked our reception…"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," said the guard. "We took our eyes off her for only a moment…"

"Well, there's no need to worry!" said Pegasus. "I have a good idea of what's on her mind… keep your eyes on Yugi! That's where our guest will be headed. Before too long, she'll show herself! Oh, and the next time you capture her, lock her up in the dungeon or somewhere so she doesn't get away!"

"Yes ma'am!" said the security guard. He left the room.

"Now then…" said Pegasus. "I will bide my time until the duel…"

Meanwhile, back outside…

"Rats!" said Jounouchi. "Where is he? No matter how much we look, we can't find that kid!"

"Maybe we should give up…" said Ansei.

"Arrggh!" said Jounouchi. "If I find that kid I can get my hands on half his star chips!"

"She's not very good at this 'Way of the Duelist' thing…" murmured Honda.

Suddenly, Yugi noticed something. "Look over there!" she said. "A boat of duelists is leaving the island!"

Meanwhile, on the boat…

"Listen, all of you!" said Haga. "In case you didn't know, I'm the champion of Japan! Give me some more space!"

"Shut up, you stupid entitled jerk!" said Tsukiko.

"Who're you calling stupid?!" asked Haga.

"So you're not denying the 'entitled jerk' part?" asked Hikari.

Haga fumed.

Meanwhile, back on the mainland…

"Hey!" said Jounouchi. "The kid who got his star chips stolen is on the boat, too! Dammit! That guy in the black suit broke his promise!"

_Those who lose their star chips are forced off the island!_ thought Yugi. _So that's the fate of those who lose the game…_

"Man, that sucks…" said Jounouchi.

The thief, a kid in a bandanna, spied the five from behind a bush.

"Yugi!" said the kid, glaring at her. Oddly, he sounded like he was trying to make his voice sound deeper than it was.

The five turned towards the kid, whose voice was muffled.

"What the – ?! A bandanna?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Hold on, Jounouchi," said Yugi. "Looks like he's after me!" Turning towards the kid, she said, "Kid! You want to duel with me?"

He nodded.

"Okay!" said the other Yugi, who had taken over. "Let's duel in that Battle Box! Come with me!" The kid followed her silently. They sat down on either side of the table.

"Yugi…" said Jounouchi. "She agreed to fight him just like that…"

"How many star chips do you bet?" asked the other Yugi.

The kid held up five fingers.

"All my star chips, eh?" asked the other Yugi. "That's just fine!" She set the star chips down. If she won, she wouldn't have to do any more dueling.

The kid dug around in his pockets for five star chips, a move that made the other Yugi suspicious.

_I knew it…_ she thought. _This kid isn't wearing a duel glove… it's safe to say he's the thief! That means he wasn't one of the duelists chosen to come to this island! Did he steal the star chips just to challenge me? Why would he go that far…?! Could "he" be…?_ Well, kids _could_ be very androgynous sometimes.

The kid stared up at the other Yugi, clearly impatient.

"This is weird!" said Jounouchi. "Yugi's got to know that kid's the thief…"

"So why did she accept the duel?" asked Honda.

"Maybe she knows who the kid really is," said Ansei.

With that, the duel began.

The kid and the other Yugi each had 2000 life points.

The kid summoned Man-Eating Plant in attack mode. It had 800 attack and 600 defense. Not a terribly smart move.

"I counter with this!" said the other Yugi. "Go, Winged Dragon! Attack from the sky!" The Winged Dragon had 1400 attack points and 1200 defense points, easily destroying Man-Eating Plant. The kid's life points were now at 1400.

The kid gulped. Yugi was an unexpectedly tough opponent. Well, not really unexpected. There was that time, seemingly so long ago…

The kid summoned Crocodilus in attack position. It had 1100 attack points and 1200 defense points. Without any spell or trap cards, this _really_ wasn't a terribly smart move.

"You can't beat my monsters with a card like that!" said the other Yugi. She summoned Celtic Guardian, who had 1400 attack points and 1200 defense points, in attack mode, then attacked Crocodilus, leaving the kid with 1100 attack points.

"Hey, I just realized something…" said Jounouchi. "That kid sucks!"

"He's no match for Yugi!" said Ansei.

"Why don't you give up now?" asked the other Yugi. "This game isn't so easy that you could win with stolen cards and no strategy!"

The kid's eyes widened. He let out a yell of frustration, then attempted to run out of the Battle Box. Jounouchi noticed something.

"That kid stole the star chips!" Indeed, the kid had a fist full of star chips, far too many to have been legitimately earned within the short timeframe of the tournament.

The other Yugi grabbed the kid's wrist. "Hold on!" she said.

"Aggh! Let go of me – !" said the kid. The kid's voice, no longer disguised owing to the outburst, was _very_ familiar.

"I knew it!" said the other Yugi, tearing the bandanna off the kid's face. "You're…" She went silent when she saw just who the kid was. "Mokuno!"

Mokuno let out a growl of frustration.

"What th – ?!" said Jounouchi.

"Why did Mokuno try to steal Yugi's star chips…?!" asked Ansei.

"No!" said Mokuno. "No!" This had gone wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

_Why is Mokuno on this island?_ wondered the other Yugi. She wasn't a duelist, that much she could tell from the kid's naïve plays. What business could she possibly have in Duelist Kingdom?

"Mokuno, you weasel!" yelled Jounouchi. "I know you stole two of Yugi's chips! Give 'em back!"

"I won't give them back!" said Mokuno.

"Why you little – !"

Ansei leaned down to talk to her. "Mokuno," she said. "Are you still mad at Yugi?"

"Of… of course I am!" said Mokuno. "She's the one who made my big sister the way she is!"

"So Kaiba's still…"

"Yes! In a coma!" said Mokuno. "She's under 24-hour care in the mansion… the world's greatest doctors have looked at her, but they say she might spend the rest of her life like that…!"

Everyone was silent.

"Hmph," said Mokuno. "But don't get the wrong idea… I didn't steal the star chips to get revenge on you!"

Yugi, who had taken back over, looked at her in surprise.

"Feh," said Mokuno. "You guys think you're so smart! You don't even know why Pegasus had this tournament, do you?"

Yugi's eyebrows raised.

"I'll tell you why, Yugi!" said Mokuno, who now looked angry. "Pegasus wants to beat you – and gain control of Kaiba Corporation!"

_What?!_ thought Yugi. _Pegasus wants Kaiba Corporation?!_ But why?

"What are you talking about, Mokuno?" asked Jounouchi. 

"How would beating Yugi help her take over KaibaCorp?" asked Ansei. 

"Pegasus created Duel Monsters and established herself as a young genius game designer," said Mokuno. "But she still wasn't big enough… so Pegasus' company I2 teamed up with Kaiba Corporation to develop the Virtual Battle Simulation Box! But then one day, she lost to Yugi in the last round of her theme park of death, Death-T! With the president of KaibaCorp in a coma, the stock plummeted! The management just got worse and worse! Pegasus took it as an opportunity and jumped in to buy the company! Pegasus made an offer to the Big Five… KaibaCorp's five leading stockholders. Now that my big sister is gone, the Big Five, who own 60% of the company's shares, have all the decision-making power! The Big Five liked her offer, but on one condition… because KaibaCorp depended on Setomi's image as the number one gamer in Japan, they agreed to hand over the company if Pegasus could beat Yugi in an official game of Duel Monsters." 

"I see," said Yugi. "So Pegasus is really looking forward to beating me, isn't she…?" 

"Not even _you_ can defeat Pegasus!" said Mokuno. 

Yugi's brows raised. 

"No…" said Mokuno. "Nobody in the world can beat her… even my big sister told me she was invincible…" 

Yugi was silent. 

"That's why I came up with my plan… if I could steal all of Yugi's star chips, she'd be disqualified before she fought Pegasus… she wouldn't have lost a match against Pegasus… so the agreement between Pegasus and the Big Five wouldn't count!" 

"So that's why you came to the island?" asked Yugi. How would she have arrived here, anyway…? 

"No, it's not!" said Mokuno. "The Big Five brought me here! Because I have the key!" 

"You have the key?" asked Yugi. 

"Huh?" asked Honda. "The key to what?" 

"Two nights ago, the Big Five barged into my house!" said Mokuno. "They were going to steal some documents from my big sister's safe! It was something they needed to complete the deal with Pegasus! So I swallowed the key to the safe, right in front of them!" 

"That's why they brought you here…?" asked Ansei. "But if the key's in your stomach…" 

"Yeah!" said Mokuno. "Every time I went to the bathroom, those guys would come running to check it out!" She giggled. Jounouchi and Honda looked like they were going to throw up. "I won't let them have Kaiba Corporation even if they tear open my guts!" said Mokuno. 

"Mokuno…" said Yugi. 

"Yugi, you might not believe this," said Mokuno, "but my big sister made Death-T to get revenge on you, but her real dream is to build Kaiba Land amusement centers all over the world so poor children can have fun! That's why she dedicated her life to Kaiba Corporation! That's why I'll give my life to keep it safe! So when she comes back she can finish her dream!" 

"I believe in you, Mokuno," said Ansei. "Now, can you believe in Yugi?" 

Mokuno's eyes widened. 

"Please give Yugi her star chips back," said Ansei. 

"I promise you, Mokuno!" said Yugi. "I will defeat Pegasus!" 

_…Yugi…_ thought Mokuno. Looking at her fist full of star chips, she took two of them out. _All right, Yugi!_ she thought. _I'll trust you!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right? 

Things did, in fact, go wrong. 

"Stop right there!" said Saruwatari. "Exchanging star chips outside a duel is a violation of the rules!" 

Mokuno wanted to say, "Screw the rules," but _why?_ She had to have some reason, but she couldn't think of anything. 

"One more move and you're disqualified!" said Saruwatari. Suddenly, he recognized one of the people in front of him. _Heh heh…_ he thought. _I finally found you, Mokuno! You sure led me on a wild goose chase…_ Out loud, he said, "Now I'm confiscating your star chips! C'mon, give 'em to me!" 

"Hold it!" said Jounouchi. "Two of those star chips are Yugi's! Give them back!" 

"How many times are you going to make me say it?" asked Saruwatari. "The only way to get star chips is to duel for them!" 

"Then I challenge you to a duel!" said the other Yugi, who had taken over. 

Saruwatari chuckled. "Sorry, I don't play games. But if you insist, I'll arrange for a special opponent!" Pointing to the nearest Battle Box, he said, "Over there!" 

"Th-that's…!" said the other Yugi. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had to correct some of the dialogue while writing this. You see, in the Viz translation of the manga, Mokuba calls Kaiba by his last name, at least sometimes. Which would be perfectly fine, if not for the fact that they are brothers who share a last name. So there's an amusing factoid for you people.


	35. Child's Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi must face a ventriloquist... who uses Kaiba's cards?! And the Kaiba puppet is not helping matters...

In the Battle Box appeared to be… Kaiba?! No, wait, it was an elderly puppeteer in a mask.

The others gasped.

"Come in… come in!" said… the puppet? No, the ventriloquist. "Y-Y-Yugi…" she continued, moving the Kaiba puppet as if it were the one speaking. "You'll p-p-pay for what you did to me…" The ventriloquist's Kaiba impression was uncanny.

_You scum!_ thought the other Yugi, glaring at the ventriloquist. _Making a mockery of Kaiba, one of the greatest duelists I've ever met! I won't forgive you!_

"That's your opponent, Yugi!" said Saruwatari. "Get in the Battle Box!"

"Why, you lousy jerks!" said Mokuno, now in a stranglehold from Saruwatari. "That's not my big sister! My big sister's in the hospital! Yugi! Beat that creepy lady!"

The ventriloquist, still impersonating Kaiba, giggled. "Today is the day I k-k-kill you!"

"Come on, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "Beat that weirdo! That puppet's messed up!"

Saruwatari chuckled. _Do you realize yet, Yugi?_ he wondered. _Your opponent isn't some ordinary duelist who came to this island for the tournament! That ventriloquist is the first of the assassins brought to the island by I2 to kill you! The doll will disturb you… enrage you… putting you off guard! Leading to your defeat! And when that happens, Kaiba Corporation will belong to Pegasus!_ Out loud, he said, "By the way, Mokuno! Don't you recognize me?"

"What…?" she said. Now that she got a better look at his face… "You're… you're Saruwatari, my bodyguard from Kaiba Corporation!"

Saruwatari chuckled. "I'm honored you remember me! But even back then, I was already working for Industrial Illusions! I infiltrated Kaiba Corporation as a spy!"

"What?!" said Mokuno.

Saruwatari chuckled. "While I was babysitting you, I reported all of KaibaCorp's confidential information to Ms. Pegasus! And that's not all I stole, Mokuno… just you watch!" He chuckled again.

"Y-Y-Yugi… we'll each bet th-th-three star chips!" said the ventriloquist.

"Fine!" said the other Yugi. "I'll bet all my star chips!" They each shuffled their decks. With that, the duel began, with each duelist having 2000 life points.

"I p-p-play… B-B-Battle Ox!" said the ventriloquist.

The other Yugi was alarmed. _The Minotaur card! That was one of Kaiba's actual cards…!_ But she calmed down. Any old fool could have that card. Out loud, she said, "Then I'll fight you with this card! Dark Magician! Black Magic! The Minotaur dies!" Battle Ox, having only 1700 attack points, went down easily.

"Waaagh! She g-g-got me!" said the ventriloquist, who now seemed to sound even more eerily like Kaiba… or perhaps it was the enclosed space…?

_This ventriloquist… how much is she going to joke around…?_ wondered the other Yugi. She glared, but in reality she was becoming increasingly unsettled.

"Yugi's looking stressed out!" said Jounouchi. "But she's winning?!" Indeed, the ventriloquist only had 1200 life points.

"It's because of the Kaiba puppet!" said Ansei.

"The ventriloquist is exuding a strange pressure!" said Bakura.

"And now f-f-for my next card…" said the ventriloquist, who was using the puppet to draw the card, in place of her actual hand. And did… did the puppet's eyes move to read the card?! "The d-d-dragon of r-r-revenge has risen from hell! Are you r-r-ready, Yugi? Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The other Yugi was shocked to her core. There was only three intact copies of that card in the world… and Kaiba had all of them. Puppet-Kaiba giggled. "You can't win, Yugi! It's really m-me… I am b-b-borrowing the b-b-body of this doll… to g-g-get my revenge… be prepared…"

_What is she saying?_ thought the other Yugi. _Is part of Kaiba's soul in this doll?! Her undying grudge… her thirst for vengeance?! Kaiba…! Will you always be my archrival?!_

"Yugi! Calm down!" said Jounouchi. "It's just the ventriloquist throwing her voice!"

The other Yugi was a bit calmer.

"L-l-let's play more! I w-w-won't attack yet with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon… by f-f-forfeiting my attack this turn, I can p-play this card face-down instead." The ventriloquist giggled. "Soon your monsters will have nowhere to run!"

_Hmm…_ thought the other Yugi. _She played a card face down on the board…! Is it some kind of spell card? Or is it a trap card?_ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn!" _The Dark Magician isn't powerful enough to challenge the Dragon in an offensive battle…_ she thought. "Dark Magician goes into defense mode!" She then set Curse of Dragon in defense mode.

"I kn-kn-knew you'd do that!" said the ventriloquist. "But it w-won't save you… th-that's because I'm playing this! Stop Defense!" With that, Dark Magician and Curse of Dragon were in attack mode.

_This isn't good!_ thought the other Yugi. _As long as her Stop Defense is active, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon can tear right through my monsters to get to me!_

The ventriloquist giggled. "…Yes, that's it! There's nowhere to h-h-hide! Go, Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Burst Stream! Annihilate the enemy dragon!"

The other Yugi's life points were now at 1000. The Kaiba-puppet giggled.

Saruwatari laughed. "I bet Kaiba's happy – if she's watching from heaven!"

"Setomi isn't dead!" said Mokuno, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "My big sister's not dead! Yugi! You told me that my big sister would come back! I believed you! Where is she?! I've waited and waited for her!" All those endless days… checking on her comatose sister… never seeing a change… the Big Five barging into her home, demanding the safe key… swallowing it… being taken against her will to a remote island… it would all be for nothing if her sister were dead… she _couldn't_ be dead…

_Mokuno…_ thought the other Yugi. _You're right! I believe in Kaiba!_ Out loud, she said, "I won't lose!" She drew a card. "I activate the spell card, Magical Hats! I play it on the Dark Magician!" Four top hats appeared on the other Yugi's side of the field. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon can only attack one hat at a time!" said the other Yugi. "If you choose the wrong hat, I live for another turn!"

"I'll take out your hats one at a time!" said the ventriloquist. "Burst Stream!" One of the hats disappeared. "Hmph," she said. "No Dark Magician… was that the wrong one?"

"Too bad," said the other Yugi. "My turn!" She drew another card. "I play this card! If you choose the right hat and destroy the Dark Magician, I lose 500 life points! But if you destroy the wrong hat, you'll activate the card I just played! The odds are one out of three…"

"I know!" said the ventriloquist. "The middle hat!" Another Burst Stream. The hat vanished.

The other Yugi chuckled. "Good choice."

Under the hat was – 

"No! The card!" said the ventriloquist.

"Good choice for me, that is!" said the other Yugi.

"What…?" said the ventriloquist. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon is trapped in a hexagram?!" Blue-Eyes' attack points were now lowered from 3000 to 2300.

"Now! Dark Magician!" said the other Yugi. "Attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Black Magic!"

The dragon was destroyed, and the ventriloquist's life points were now at 700.

"She did it!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Yugi…" said Mokuno, smiling.

But something was wrong.

"Burst Stream!" said the ventriloquist. "Incinerate the Dark Magician!"

"What?!" said the other Yugi. Her life points were now at 500.

_But… but how?!_ wondered Mokuno.

The ventriloquist giggled. "What's the m-matter, Yugi? I just played the s-s-second Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The other Yugi stared in silence.

"Have you forgotten that I have th-three Blue-Eyes White Dragons? Now, p-play your next card… so the d-dragon can turn it to a-ashes!"

The other Yugi was silent. _I don't have a card,_ she thought. _I don't have a card in my deck that can beat the Blue-Eyes White Dragon…_ She shut her eyes. _…I lose…_

"Good, good, you p-p-played your final card, yes?" The ventriloquist laughed. "Then this is the end! Go, dragon! Destroy Yugi!"

Except… Blue-Eyes wasn't doing anything? It hovered near Feral Imp, but it stood still, as though the ventriloquist hadn't said anything.

"Why isn't it attacking…?" asked the ventriloquist. "The dragon's vanishing… but why…?!" Dropping the puppet, the ventriloquist said, "No…!"

_Kaiba…_ thought the other Yugi. _I believed in you, Kaiba… I know your will to live dwells in that card!_ She could feel it in her bones. It was something she couldn't really explain.

"Hey! Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "What _was_ that?! You rock! The Blue-Eyes White Dragon self-destructed!"

"But why…?" asked Ansei. "It was almost like Kaiba's card refused to attack Yugi…"

"Gimme a break, Ansei!" said Jounouchi. "Shows you what you know! Cards don't think! People do!"

"Uh… I guess…" said Ansei.

"No matter how it happened," said Bakura, "it means Yugi still has a chance to win!"

"Yay!" said Mokuno. "Go Yugi!"

"What in the world…?" asked Saruwatari. "Did the Battle Box's virtual reality system malfunction?"

"Yeah, right!" said Mokuno. "A KaibaCorp Battle Box wouldn't break that easily!" _Setomi didn't take all those engineering classes for nothing!_ she thought.

"Why you…" said the ventriloquist, who had dropped her act. "Enough talk! Let's game!"

"There's no monsters on your side of the board!" said the other Yugi. "Hurry up and play one!"

"I play Grappler! Defense Mode!" said the ventriloquist.

_So that's it,_ thought the other Yugi. _You're trying to play defense until you draw the Blue-Eyes White Dragon…_ Out loud, she said, "My turn!" and drew a card. _As long as her Stop Defense card is on the field, I have to play my monsters in attack mode… if she draws the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I lose…_ Out loud, she said, "I place one card face down on the board, and play the Celtic Knight in attack mode! The elf slays the Grappler!"

The ventriloquist drew a card. "I play a monster in defense mode and play a face-down card," he said.

"Fine!" said the other Yugi. "I play another face-down card! And summon the Mystical Elf in attack mode!" The Mystical Elf had 800 attack points and 2000 defense points. "My turn is over!"

"My turn…" said the ventriloquist. She drew a card. "Behold the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Slaughter the holy elf! Burst Stream of Destruction! It's over!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "I play a trap card!" she said. "Mirror Force deflects the attack!"

"I play a spell card!" said the ventriloquist. "Negate Attack!"

_Damn it,_ thought the other Yugi. _She anticipated my trap card…_

The ventriloquist chuckled. "Your trump card ended up being useless…" she said. "I'm always one step ahead of you!"

"What now?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Yugi!" said Honda.

"It's over…" said Mokuno, tearing up. No. No! This couldn't be it! This couldn't be the end… no…

"Now, Yugi," said the ventriloquist, "it's your last turn! You must be at your wits' end…" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The other Yugi chuckled. "Here's my next trump card," she said. "Monster Reborn!"

"What?!" said the ventriloquist. "Impossible! Are you going to bring one of my cards back from the dead?!"

"Wrong, thief!" said the other Yugi. "I'm not bringing back _your_ card… it's Kaiba's card!"

"Curse you! Curse you!" said the ventriloquist. "I have no choice… the equally-matched Blue-Eyes White Dragons will have to kill one another!"

"You wish!" said the other Yugi. "My Mystical Elf has been chanting a magic spell since I placed it on the board! The chant is a bolstering magic that adds the elf's attack power to whatever monster I choose! Are you ready? This is Kaiba's anger! Burn! Holy Burst Stream! Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!"

The ventriloquist's life points were now 0.

"I-I lose…" she said.

"You _slime…_ " said the other Yugi, voice filled with cold anger. "You think you can just _walk away?!_ My anger hasn't been quelled!"

"Uh…"

"Not only did you steal Kaiba's cards," she said, wdjat forming on her forehead as she glared at him, "you played with her _soul_ like it was some stupid _toy_ …" Venom all too clear in her voice, she said, "I won't forgive you! Penalty game!"

The ventriloquist screamed in agony. It seemed the whole world was growing around her… no, wait, she was _shrinking._ She felt her body grow heavy everywhere except her joints, which seemed to go limp. Her head, furthermore, seemed far, far too large for the rest of her body… when she finally opened her eyes, she beheld what appeared to be Death himself. She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't hear anything.

In reality, nothing had changed about her proportions or what her body was made from, and she really _was_ screaming.

The other Yugi chuckled. "Ms. Ventriloquist… may your puppet be a merciful master in the illusion I've trapped you in…!"

"You did it, Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

"Now you've made up for the star chips you lost!" said Ansei.

"I got Kaiba's cards back, too!" said the other Yugi, who had taken Kaiba's deck while the ventriloquist was screaming.

"Uh, guys?" said Honda. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked, pointing at the ventriloquist.

"She'll live," said the other Yugi.

"O-okay…" said Honda. That was a disturbing sight.

"…Hold on," said the other Yugi. "Where'd Mokuno go?"

"What?!" asked Honda.

"She's gone!" said Ansei.

"Rats!" said Jounouchi. "Did they take her to the castle?"

At any rate, the other Yugi now had 6 star chips.

Meanwhile, in the Kaiba mansion, a woman arose from the chair her comatose body had been sitting in for the last several months. She walked up to the window of her room, daylight falling on eyes that were not quite so sleep-deprived as usual.

_Yugi…_ thought Setomi Kaiba, as her thoughts finally came into focus. _It's been a while._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended to have a creepier effect for this chapter. This inspired the chapter name, as you can tell.
> 
> I also genderflipped the ventriloquist, mostly because I wanted to give the effect of Yami Yugi being unsure of whether Kaiba's ghost is possessing the puppet or if it's just the ventriloquist's voice and the enclosed space getting to her. This is easier when Kaiba and the ventriloquist are identified with the same pronouns.
> 
> And yes, the puppet's eyes moving _did,_ in fact, happen in the manga.
> 
> Originally, the panel in the manga that showed Kaiba waking up was in the middle of the duel, after the ventriloquist's failed attack with Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I moved it to the end of the chapter because I felt it was more appropriate.


	36. Duel at Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems like Maiku wants a rematch against Jounouchi... but it turns out, somebody _else_ is dueling her!

Evening of the first day. 51 hours remain.

"Mokuno was abducted while you fools were supposed to be guarding her!" yelled Kaiba at the security guards currently in the foyer of her mansion.

"Ma'am!" said one of them.

"We're sorry, Mistress Setomi!"

"Mistress Setomi! Please wait!" said one of the maids. "Where are you going? You can't just run off! You're still not well enough to – "

"Be quiet!" said Kaiba, cutting her off. This was no time for rest. "Prepare the chopper! I'm flying to Pegasus' island!" There was only one thought on her mind at the moment. _Mokuno!_

Meanwhile, on the island…

"She's gone!" said Jounouchi.

"I can't find Mokuno anywhere!" said Ansei. "Do you think they took her to Pegasus' castle?"

"What can we do to help her now?" asked Jounouchi.

Yugi, who had taken back over, looked out into the distance, at Pegasus' castle. _Mokuno…_ she thought. Out loud, she said, "We'll just have to collect ten star chips and get to Pegasus' castle!"

Yugi may have had 6 star chips, but Jounouchi only had 2. _Man, I've got to get more star chips,_ she thought.

Meanwhile, fairly close to the group but not within earshot…

Maiku yawned. "Attack, Harpy Ladies… Triangle Ecstasy Spark!"

"Agggh! No!" said his opponent.

"There, you happy? I win…" said Maiku, eyes heavy from tiredness. "Now give me your star chips and beat it…!"

"Now I'm out of the tournament!" sobbed Maiku's opponent while leaving the Battle Box.

_Boring…_ thought Maiku. _I just can't get into it…_ He let out a sigh. In a couple of hours, the sun would set, and he could sleep. Who would want to duel in the dark, anyway? He made his way to the cliff edge to watch the sun set. He remembered those words… those words that that girl, Jounouchi, had said. _There's one thing that doesn't change… it's what you can show, but can't see!_ He growled under his breath. "That pisses me off!" he said to himself. "I can't believe I lost to somebody like her! The world should end before that happens!" _And that stupid saying!_ he thought. _I have no idea what it means! It's so irritating! What's something you can show but you can't see? Um… a bald guy wearing a toupee? A pipe drawn on a piece of paper? No, that's not it…_ Then, an all-too-familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I finally found you, Maiku Jaku!"

"Huh…?" he asked

"It's me! Dinosaur Ryuzaki, the world's greatest duelist!" Sarcastically, she added, "Thanks for making a fool out of me on the ship! Play me one more time right here!"

"Shut up!" said Maiku. "I'm not interested in fighting somebody I've already beaten once! Get lost!"

Ryuzaki growled. "What'd you say?! Why you… making fun of me _again,_ eh…? Listen! In case you forgot, I was the runner-up in that last tournament, out of everyone in Japan! I'm going to _win_ this time! I even have _five_ star chips already!"

Maiku held up his right hand, turning his wrist to show off his own star chips.

_What the…?!_ Ryuzaki thought. _He's got eight star chips already!_

"You get it?" asked Maiku. "Two more star chips and I'll be in Pegasus' castle! But don't be afraid… I've already decided who I'm going to get my last two star chips from! And believe me, she's not a loser like you!"

"Who is it? Yugi?" asked Ryuzaki. _I'm the one who's going to beat her!_ she thought.

"But before I do that…" said Maiku, "there's another duelist I have to take down…"

Ryuzaki was glaring at him, teeth gritted. _Wait a sec…_ he thought. He had an idea. "All right, Ryuzaki!" he said. "I'll duel with you."

"You mean it?" asked Ryuzaki.

"But under one condition!" he said. "You have to beat someone for me first!"

_Grr…_ thought Ryuzaki. _I hate doing anything for him, but if I've got to, I've got to…_ "I'll do it! So who is this person you hate so much?"

"Come with me!" said Maiku. "Oh, one more thing! Until you beat her, you're my servant! You got that?"

"Wh-what?!" said Ryuzaki. _Oh man…_

"By the way…" said Maiku, "riddle me this: what's 'something you can show, but you can't see?'"

"What is this, a quiz?" asked Ryuzaki. She quickly thought of something, though. "Oh! I know! It's the octopus in a piece of takoyaki! That one's easy!"

"That was stupid of me to ask," said Maiku. _It figures she wouldn't know about it._

Meanwhile, somewhere fairly close to where Maiku and Ryuzaki ended up going…

"Hey you!" said Jounouchi. "Wanna duel with me?"

The kid he asked to duel, however, was alarmed. Not because of Jounouchi herself, oh no. "That girl with you… she's Yugi, isn't she? I'll pass… I don't want to have to fight Yugi next…" He ran off.

"W-wait!" said Jounouchi. "Aggh! He got away again! That's the fourth person!"

"I don't believe it…" said Ansei. "The other players just see Yugi's face and run away…" _Everybody's afraid of Yugi…_ he thought. _It kinda feels good…_

"This is a problem," said Bakura. "We can't get anyone to fight Jounouchi…"

"But if we let her go off by herself she'll probably get her butt kicked…" said Honda.

"Shut up!" said Jounouchi. "I don't see _you_ dueling!"

Just then, Jounouchi heard some all-too-familiar laughter.

"We meet again, Jounouchi!" said Maiku.

_It's Maiku Jaku!_ thought Jounouchi. "It's you!" she said, out loud. "The Harpy dude!"

"I see that you guys are glued at the hip, as usual," said Maiku. "Do you all walk in a line, too? Maybe you were ducklings in your past life?"

"We're not ducklings!" snapped Jounouchi.

"Be honest, Yugi," said Maiku. "Isn't it a nuisance to have all these people tailing after you? I bet if you were alone, you'd have been at the castle a long time ago!"

_…This man…_ thought the other Yugi.

_Oops,_ thought Maiku. _She looks mad. I'd better back off on provoking Yugi… now is not the time to fight her… my real target is…_ "Jounouchi!" he said, pointing at her. "I let you defeat me last time… but this time you have to fight my servant!"

"Your _servant?_ " asked Jounouchi, disbelievingly.

Ryuzaki chuckled. "Long time, no see, Yugi!" she said. "How you doing, Jounouchi?"

_Dinosaur Ryuzaki!_ thought the other Yugi.

"I'll take you on!" said Jounouchi.

Ryuzaki chuckled. _What a sucker…_ she thought. _Depending on how you look at it, maybe I should thank Maiku Jaku…_

"Jounouchi, wait!" said Honda. "Let's think about this!" That's what Honda would have done. But then again, Jounouchi wasn't Honda.

"Nobody calls _me_ a duckling and gets away with it!" said Jounouchi.

_Heh heh…_ thought Maiku. _What a simple person… I wish I could play you again and win back my stars by myself… but that would be a little immature. If Ryuzaki beats Jounouchi, and I beat Ryuzaki, it's the same as beating them both!_

_What's the matter with him?!_ wondered Ansei. _Why is he going after Jounouchi? It's obvious he's afraid of losing to Yugi!_ Calming down a bit, he thought, _Wait and see! Yugi will support Jounouchi like she did last time!_

"I'll do it!" said Jounouchi.

_Maiku Jaku!_ thought the other Yugi. _I will lead Jounouchi to victory!_

"Is that Battle Box okay with you?" asked Ryuzaki, pointing to the nearest one.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi.

"I'll be there waiting for you!" said Ryuzaki.

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "I have a favor to ask you."

The other Yugi looked up at Jounouchi.

"This duel, I don't want you to give me any advice."

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei. "What are you saying?!"

"Are you nuts?" asked Honda.

"She's not somebody you can beat at your skill level!" said Bakura.

"It's pretty dumb of me, huh?" Jounouchi asked rhetorically. "In my mind I'm yelling at myself 'What are you doing, you idiot?' 'Why did you say that? Take it back!' If I bet all my star chips on this duel and I lose, it's all over… I won't be able to save Shizu… but I want to win on my own! If I can win, Shizu can win too! That's how I feel!"

The other Yugi smiled at Jounouchi. _I know what you mean, Jounouchi,_ she thought. _Win this duel by your own hands!_ At that point, the other Yugi allowed Yugi to take over.

"Yugi!" said Ansei.

"Yugi's back to normal!" said Jounouchi.

"C'mon guys!" said Ansei. "Let's all root for Jounouchi!"

_Yugi…_ thought Jounouchi. _Thank you… both of you…_ Out loud, she said, "I'm going!"

"Good luck, Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

_Ah?_ thought Ansei. _I think I know why Yugi's back to normal. The other Yugi accepted Jounouchi's wishes, and as proof of her trust, she hid herself in Yugi's heart… by trusting her friend and staying out of the fight, she's helping Jounouchi learn to be more confident…_ Out loud, he said, "C'mon Yugi! Let's cheer for Jounouchi!"

"Yup!" said Yugi.

Jounouchi was worried now that the other Yugi was _actually_ gone. But, she walked calmly to the Battle Box. She and Ryuzaki sat down across from each other. It was time to duel, and there was no time for doubt.


	37. Dino Duel!

"Beat her, my faithful servant!" said Maiku. "There'll be a prize for you if you win!"

"You can do it, Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

"Make her dumb dinosaurs extinct!" said Honda.

"Heh," said Ryuzaki. "The audience is pretty lively, isn't it?" asked Ryuzaki. "By the way, how many star chips are we going to wager?"

"Both of them!" said Jounouchi. "Both of my star chips!"

"All right!" said Ryuzaki. "Two for me, too." After she set down two star chips, she said, "This field is part wasteland, part grassland! My dinosaur cards will get a powerup because of the wasteland squares. Get ready, okay?"

_Ryuzaki…_ thought Jounouchi. _Your dinosaur deck's pretty strong… you took second place in the tournament, but I have a deadly combo!_

"Let's start!" said Ryuzaki. They shuffled each other's decks and handed them back.

With that, the duel began, with each duelist having 2000 life points and drawing their opening hand. Jounouchi looked at the cards she drew. _Lucky!_ she thought. _I can't believe it! I drew Baby Dragon and Time Wizard already! I've already won!_ Out loud, she said, "I play Baby Dragon in defense mode!" _Heh heh! Play whatever monster you want! On my next turn I'll play the Time Wizard and your dinosaurs will be dead meat!_

"I play this!" said Ryuzaki. "Two-Headed King Rex!" This monster had 1600 attack points and 1200 defense points.

_Huh…?_ Jounouchi thought.

"I kill the Baby Dragon in one hit!" said Ryuzaki.

"Wh-wh-what?!" said Jounouchi.

Ryuzaki laughed. "Do you know anything about this game? You can't just put out your card and expect me to _let_ you play a combo! Use your head a little!"

Maiku laughed. "The match is already decided!" he said.

_Don't lose, Jounouchi!_ thought Yugi.

"C'mon! Hurry up and play your next card!" said Ryuzaki.

"All right, all right…" said Jounouchi. She then played the Battle Steer, which had 1800 attack points and 1300 defense points. "Attack!" she said. "Go! Beat King Rex!"

Ryuzaki laughed. "You dimwit!" she said. "A measly 1800 attack points? Don't you know my Tyrannosaurus gets a powerup because of the wasteland?"

_Crap, I forgot about the field power source!_ thought Jounouchi.

Maiku laughed. "Flatten her!" he said.

With that, the T-Rex, whose attack points were now 2080, counterattacked, leaving Jounouchi with 1720 life points.

"Take your time, Jounouchi!" said Yugi. "Don't rush!"

_My side of the board is grassland…_ thought Jounouchi. _That's good terrain for warriors and knights! And I have a lot of them!_ Out loud, she said, "Here's my next card! Axe Raider!" Axe Raider had 1700 attack points and 1150 defense points, the attack points increased to 2210 because of the field power source.

"My turn then!" said Ryuzaki. "I play a new monster! Sword Dragon!" Sword Dragon had 1750 attack points and 2030 defense points. The field power source increased its attack to 2275. "Dino Tail Sword!" she said. "Axe Raider is cut in two!" Jounouchi's life points were now at 1145. Ryuzaki laughed. "Give it up!" she said. "You'll have to take Earth back to the Ice Ages before you beat my dinosaur cards!"

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi. _Jounouchi will lose if this keeps up…!_ she thought.

_Aww man…_ thought Jounouchi. _Am I just not good enough to beat her…?_ She looked in Yugi's direction. "Sheesh…" she muttered under her breath. _How pathetic! I can't ask Yugi for help all the time!_ Focusing back on the duel, she thought. _I'm gonna win on my own! It's a promise to myself!_ Out loud, she said, "My turn!" _None of the cards in my hand can beat her dinosaurs in straight combat,_ she thought. _I have the Time Wizard… it has the power to control time… take it forwards or backwards… but I don't know any other way to use it except the combo I used to beat Maiku Jaku… does it have other applications…? I'll keep it in my hand for now… don't want to risk it being destroyed…_

"Ryuzaki!" said Maiku. "Jounouchi has Time Wizard!"

"Yeah, I know!" said Ryuzaki. "She doesn't even know how to _use_ it!"

_The Time Wizard…!_ thought Yugi.

"I play the Rock Golem in defense mode!" said Jounouchi.

"Defense, schmefence!" said Ryuzaki. "I'm just gonna kill everything you throw out! I summon Megasaurus in attack mode!" Megasaurus had 1800 attack points, boosted to 2340 by the field power source. "Megasaurus, charge! Crush the Rock Golem!" 

"I set Swamp Battleguard in defense mode!"

"More prey for the dinosaurs!" Ryuzaki laughed. "Do you give up yet?" she asked.

"Yugi!" said Ansei. "Isn't there a way for Jounouchi to beat Ryuzaki?"

Yugi was silent for a moment. "There may be one way…" she said. _There's a chance…_ she thought. _If Jounouchi uses Time Wizard… but it's risky… and will she realize it…?_

"Please, Yugi," said Ansei. "Tell Jounouchi what to do! Otherwise, she's going to lose!"

"I know why you don't want to say anything," said Honda. "Jounouchi told you not to give her any advice, and you don't want to break your promise. But…"

"Don't you see, Yugi?" asked Bakura. "If she loses, it's all over for her!"

"Yugi!" said Ansei. "Think about Jounouchi's brother! What will happen to him if she loses…? I know you want to protect Jounouchi's honor, but wouldn't true kindness be to lend her a hand right now?"

All right then, thought Yugi. She stepped towards the Battle Box, putting both hands on the glass walls. She tried to call Jounouchi's name, but something stopped her. She felt a presence beside her. _My other self…?!_ she wondered.

_Don't say anything to Jounouchi,_ said the other Yugi.

_But if this goes on, Jounouchi will…!No!_ said the other Yugi. _If we rescue her from this situation, that's when Jounouchi will truly lose!_

_Huh…?!_

_For Jounouchi, this is a battle against herself,_ said the other Yugi. _The only thing we can do is watch. It's like the saying goes: "If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." We must watch the courage of Jounouchi, who drove herself into a corner and took this challenge of her own free will!_

_Yeah…_ said Yugi. _You're right!_

_And besides,_ said the other Yugi, _look at her eyes! Those aren't the eyes of somebody who's given up the fight!_

"My turn!" said Jounouchi. "I play this card! The Flame Swordsman!" The Flame Swordsman had 1800 attack points and 1600 defense points. With the field power source, he now had 2340 attack points.

"Hmm…! You pulled out a decent card for a change!" said Ryuzaki.

_Wow…_ thought Maiku. _That's a pretty good card for a newbie…_

"Here I go!" said Jounouchi. "Attack!"

"The Swordsman has the same attack power as Megasaurus!" said Ryuzaki. "Megasaurus, charge! Trample the Flame Swordsman!"

The Flame Swordsman stood still, blade in front of him, as if to block the dinosaur's charge. 

"Ouch! You have my condolences!" said Maiku. "Taking the charge of a dinosaur with thousands of pounds of force behind it! The match is over…" Things couldn't possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

When Megasaurus came into contact with the Flame Swordsman's blade, the dinosaur was cleft in two. The Flame Swordsman was unharmed.

_Wh-what?!_ thought Ryuzaki. _My dinosaur card lost!_ Her life points were now at 1460.

_No way…!_ thought Maiku. Then, he realized something. _I see…! Dinosaurs are weak against fire… and so the Flame Swordsman destroyed the dinosaur!_

"That's the spirit, Jounouchi!" said Ansei.

"Beat up that dinosaur chick!" said Honda.

_I will win on my own!_ thought Jounouchi.

"That was a lucky shot!" said Maiku. "There's no way Jounouchi can beat my servant Ryuzaki!"

"Umm, whatever!" said Ansei. "Didn't you just lose to Jounouchi a few hours ago?"

"Hmph!" said Maiku. "As if! That was just bad luck… plus she cheated! Even a kindergartener could win once in a while with Yugi telling them how to play!" The two glared at each other.

"Go for it, Jounouchi!" said Ansei.

"Come on, Jounouchi! It's time to show us what you can do!" said Yugi.

"You bet!" said Jounouchi. "Your move, Lizard Lass!"

Ryuzaki drew a card. Not quite the right one…

For several turns, Ryuzaki kept drawing weak cards, and Jounouchi destroyed them with Flame Swordsman, eventually leaving Ryuzaki with 720 life points. Eventually, she drew the card she needed.

"I summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" she said.

_Wh-what…?!_ thought Jounouchi.

"No way…!" said Yugi. Red-Eyes Black Dragon was a rare card, one that collectors paid hundreds of thousands of yen for. At 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points, while its stats were nothing to sneeze at, it wasn't quite as powerful, rare, or expensive as Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but had support cards to back it up and let it hold its own.

Ryuzaki chuckled. "The Red-Eyes Black Dragon is a Dark monster, so it doesn't get a field power bonus, but your card still doesn't stand a chance! Black Fire Bullet! Eat flames!"

With that, Jounouchi's life points were now at 1085. Well, shoot. Flame Swordsman was gone. And he was Jounouchi's most powerful card, by attack points at least. Was this the end? Would Shizu never get his eyesight back? Wait a sec… _wait a sec…_ Jounouchi had one final gambit. "I summon Time Wizard in attack mode!" she said.

Ryuzaki's eyes widened. This was the key card to Jounouchi's victory over Maiku. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Listen, Jounouchi!" she said. "There's a standard rule in trading card games: the winner gets to take one card from the loser's deck! So if I win this game, I'm taking your Time Wizard! Got it?" If she could get her hands on the Time Wizard, she could beat Maiku, and get her revenge.

"Hey, wait a minute, Ryuzaki!" said Maiku. "I won't accept that kind of trade! This is my match!"

"If it's _your_ match," said Ryuzaki, "then why aren't _you_ dueling Jounouchi yourself? You aren't participating in this match! So you don't get to decide what either of us do, you backseat duelist!"

They continued arguing back and forth, eventually devolving to single-word insults.

"Hey, would ya stop arguing?" asked Jounouchi. "You're holding up the duel!"

Maiku and Ryuzaki promptly shut up, Ryuzaki returning her focus to the duel.

"I now activate Time Wizard's effect!" Time Wizard promptly leapt straight up, generating a roulette right behind itself. The roulette was divided into six sections. Two of them had the word "win" written on them, and the other four had pictures of skulls on them. Jounouchi would succeed if the roulette landed on a "win" section.

The arrow started spinning rapidly.

_Please! _thought Jounouchi. _Let me have another chance!___

__The arrow started gradually slowing down._ _

___Please, Time Wizard!__ _

__The arrow started slowing down at a faster and faster rate. Eventually, the arrow stopped entirely._ _

__Success._ _

__An aura started glowing from the Time Wizard. On Ryuzaki's side of the field, numerous dinosaur skeletons arose. Even Red-Eyes Black Dragon became nothing more than a fossil._ _

__"Wh-what?!" said Ryuzaki. "My dinos are gone?!"_ _

__Jounouchi breathed a sigh of relief._ _

__"Are you telling me I lost?!" said Ryuzaki._ _

__The group outside cheered. Including Maiku. When he realized what he was doing, he stood up straight and cleared his throat._ _

___Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi. _It was luck, but I won on my own! And I got a super rare card out of it, too!__ _

__With that, Jounouchi now had 4 star chips, and was that much closer to winning the tournament._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I altered something slightly. I had Jounouchi be cautious about the Time Wizard, because in canon, Jounouchi only realized he still had Time Wizard because _Ryuzaki inadvertently reminded him about it._ I'm trying to reduce the number of moments where characters act egregiously idiotically, because that is a pet peeve of mine. So, for example, the mistake Jounouchi makes in the very beginning (reusing the Time Wizard-Baby Dragon combo) makes sense because of inexperience. Conversely, _not setting any monsters in defense mode_ in a certain enraging duel that didn't need to even happen doesn't, especially since Jounouchi _knows_ how to do that!


	38. For Friendship, Perhaps

Night of the first day. 48 hours remain.

A tall, imposing man made his approach in the night. He laughed.

"Sleep while you can, duelists…" he whispered to himself, "because I'm coming for you!"

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

"I'm hungry!" said Jounouchi. She hadn't had anything to eat that day.

"Hey, what time is it?" asked Honda.

"It's just past eight," said Bakura.

"It's so dark and quiet already!" said Yugi.

"I haven't seen any other duelists for a while," said Honda.

"Nobody would want to duel in the dark!" said Jounouchi. "I want food, not star chips!"

"I wish they were potato chips," murmured Yugi.

Ansei sighed. "I want to take a nice bath!" He had been expecting the tournament to take place in a building, with food provided for the duelists, not a _Lord of the Flies_ -esque survival challenge!

"A mushroom!" said Jounouchi. "I'm gonna eat it!"

"Don't do it, Jounouchi!" said Bakura.

"What if it's poisonous?" asked Yugi.

"Are you gonna eat that?" asked Maiku. "You guys must be starving!"

"Wagh!" Jounouchi had not expected Maiku to show up out of nowhere. Who was next? Kaiba?

Maiku took a chocolate bar out of his bag and started eating it.

"What'd you come here for, anyway?" asked Jounouchi.

"Mmm…" said Maiku. "This walnut chocolate bar is delicious! What do you say, Jounouchi? Want to trade one of your star chips for some of my food?"

"Never! You fiend!" yelled Jounouchi. "These star chips are my life!"

Maiku chuckled. "Just kidding," he said. "I'd never have played you in the first place if you were that lowly a duelist."

Jounouchi sputtered in anger. "Why, you… making a fool out of me…!"

"What d'you say?" he asked. "How about a ceasefire for tonight? We're both duelists! We need a break, both of us."

"You're right!" said Yugi. "I'm tired from all the duels today."

"'A break'?! Yeah, right! This is bad news!" said Jounouchi. "He's plotting something! I can't trust him!"

"You guys didn't bring any food, huh?" asked Maiku. "Have some of mine! If we can make a fire, we can cook!"

"What?! Really?" asked Yugi.

With that, the six began to set everything up. Maiku laid out the surprisingly-high amount of food that he had brought in his bag.

"Wow! Cool!" said Yugi.

"Provisions… a tent… even a lantern! Everything you need!" exclaimed Honda.

"You brought all this yourself?" asked Ansei.

"A duelist must be prepared!" said Maiku. "You can't rely on the kindness of strangers!"

"I'll do the cooking!" said Bakura.

"I'll help you!" said Yugi.

"Honda! Jounouchi!" said Maiku. "You two go fetch some water!"

As she picked up a bucket, Jounouchi growled, complaining, "I hate him bossing me around!"

"Stupid!" said Honda, picking up a water bucket herself. "At least we _get_ to eat!"

"This is fun!" said Yugi. "It's like camping!"

"Yeah!" said Bakura. The two of them cheerfully chatted as they cooked, the others hearing the occasional laughter.

"Wow…" said Maiku. "I've heard the rumors. But it's true… Yugi really is a completely different person from how she was…"

"Look who's talking!" said Ansei. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

Maiku chuckled. "We all have masks that we wear… you can't wear a mask all the time…"

Ansei looked at him, surprised.

"Sorry…" he said. "That was a lie… this kindness surprises me more than you… I don't know why I went over to talk to you kids… it's a strange thing for me to do… after all, I've always lived alone… speaking of strange… you guys are kind of strange too, aren't you? Do you always stay in your little group?"

Ansei was confused. "'Strange'?" he asked. "What do you mean? It's because we're friends!"

"Hmph…" said Maiku. "Your name's Ansei… right? When the girls come back with water, you should warm some up and take a shower! I have a portable shower and a private tent."

"Are you serious?" asked Ansei, smiling. "Thanks!"

"There are some things few prepare for!" said Maiku.

When Jounouchi and Honda came back with water, Ansei set up the portable shower under Maiku's instruction. Maiku walked away, so as to give him privacy. He took off his clothes and stepped into the shower, feeling the warm water fall on him. _So this is Maiku Jaku…_ he thought. _I used to think he was the most infuriating man I'd ever met… but he's actually pretty nice…_ Thinking about Yugi for a second, he thought, _I wonder if all duelists have two sides to them…_

Maiku stood guard outside the shower. Not that he had anything to worry about. The others stuck to their jobs.

After Ansei was done showering and the food was cooked, Ansei exclaimed, "Whoa! That smells good!"

"Good job, everybody!" said Maiku. "Dig in!"

"Whoa! That's delicious, Bakura!" said Honda.

"Thank you!" said Bakura, smiling. Her face seemed just slightly pink… or maybe that was the campfire casting light on her face.

"You guys get some nourishment!" said Maiku. "There's gonna be more duels in the morning!"

"Yes sir!" said Honda.

"Honda, you're not a duelist!" said Jounouchi.

Yugi laughed. Turning towards Maiku, she said, "You already have eight star chips, Mr. Jaku. Maybe you'll be the first one in the castle!"

"…I'll settle the score with you sooner or later," said Maiku. "Bet on it."

Yugi was surprised. What was Maiku talking about?

"Hey…" said Ansei. "Let's forget about the game for now… right?"

"Wrong," said Maiku. "We may be friends right now… but we'll be enemies tomorrow! That's what it means to be a duelist!" He stood up, turning away from the group. "Thanks for making dinner. I'm going back to my tent. You should stay in my tent too, Ansei!"

Two hours later…

"All righty then!" said Jounouchi. "A full stomach, a warm night… time to catch so shut-eye!" She laid down on the ground by a tree, hands behind her head, and shut her eyes. Honda laid down nearby, using her trench coat as a blanket.

Yugi was still awake. She took the video camera out of her bag. Her grandmother chuckled from inside it.

"Grandma!" she said. "I collected six star chips today!"

"Oh my!" she said. "You did well, Yugi!"

"Tomorrow's the last day of duels… I promise to go to the castle and beat Pegasus! I'll get you out of there, I promise!"

"I know you will, Yugi. Sleep well!"

"Yup! Goodnight, grandma!" She slipped the camera back into her bag. She then leaned back against a tree, yawning.

Inside the tent, Ansei and Maiku were talking.

"Were you always good at cards, Mr. Jaku?" asked Ansei.

Maiku was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke, he said, "I was a casino dealer on a cruise ship! I traveled around the world, playing cards with rich people every day. I've seen hundreds of boring people flashing their money to get with me… I'd get them to put down a lot of money, and beat them with tricks of the trade I'd learned over the years… I started to hate people more and more. I made a lot of money… but I got sick and tired of it… so I quit!"

Ansei was surprised.

"I didn't come to this island just for the money," said Maiku. "Not out of pride, either… that of a duelist or a man… it's more like I want to find the things I used to cherish a long time ago… it's strange… when I see you guys, it makes me remember… by the way… you have a crush on Yugi, don't you?"

Ansei stood up straight, heat reaching his face. "Wh-what are you saying?!" he asked. "That's crazy!"

"No need to be embarrassed!" said Maiku. "In fact, I told Yugi earlier to wait at the cliff up ahead! I told her you wanted to talk to her!"

"What?!"

"C'mon, you should go!"

"Oh my gosh…" murmured Ansei as he left the tent. "I don't believe this…! He's setting me up with her…! I don't know what to say…!"

Back inside the tent, Maiku laughed. _His face got so red! And I was only half serious… there must have been a time when I used to get like that…_

He sat down and started relaxing when, all of a sudden, a large, gloved hand roughly pulled open the door to the tent.

"Another victim!" he said. Maiku was startled. "It's time to duel!" said the man.

At the cliff, Yugi stood, waiting for Ansei. she thought. _I wonder what it is?_ For a brief second, she wondered if Ansei felt towards her what she felt towards him. She thought it unlikely. After all, Yugi looked like a twelve-year-old, even at sixteen! She was more likely to win the lottery than have someone, _anyone,_ attracted to her…

"Uh… hey, Yugi!" said Ansei, interrupting Yugi's thoughts.

"Oh, Ansei!" said Yugi, surprised. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Uh… um… I dunno…" he said, cheeks turning pink. "We could talk about old times… ha ha…"

The two sat down, in the perfect position to watch the stars.

"Do you remember the first time we met, Yugi?" asked Ansei. "We were in elementary school… you gave me a handheld game. I really got into it, but I played and played and I wasn't getting and better, so I got mad and hit it… and broke it… but you just laughed, and brought me an easier game the next day…"

Yugi looked down at the ground. She let out a quiet "Hmm…"

"What's wrong, Yugi?" asked Ansei.

"Ansei… I think you're thinking of the _other_ me…" said Yugi. "I understand… I'll go away so you can talk to her for a while…"

_What…?!_ thought Ansei. _Yugi…!_

"Hang on a minute… I'll call her with my heart…" _She usually comes out… but she seems really reluctant this time…_

_Oh, Yugi…_ Didn't Yugi see? She was perfect just the way she was… to force herself to do something she was so reluctant to do…

"Stop, Yugi!" said Ansei, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders. "It's okay! You don't have to call her! You're still _you!_ "

Yugi's brows raised. _Huh?_ she thought.

"Of course, at first I…" No, wait, that was not the thing to say! "But never mind. It doesn't matter which 'side' you are! It doesn't matter if your voice is deeper! It's all _you,_ Yugi! You're just fine, the way you are…" He held Yugi's hand, smiling gently, face not quite as pink as before, but still noticeably so.

_Ansei…_ Yugi thought. She felt heat in her own face.

They sat there together in silence, enjoying each other's company. Eventually, they laid down, watching the stars together. They fell asleep like that, more peaceful than ever. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make this chapter more of a [Breather Episode](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BreatherEpisode), because it felt like a natural place to have one.
> 
> I also decided not to have the Peachshipping moment interrupted, because I don't like having shippy moments interrupted, especially for pairings I like.
> 
> Is it proper grammar to italicize book titles when it's fiction, or does it matter at all?


	39. Shadows of Duelist Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Maiku's lost his duel against Panic, the Player Killer of Darkness, it's up to Yugi to duel him!

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Maiku screamed.

The man laughed. "My monsters of the dark are invincible!" he said. "Now your Harpies die!"

Maiku's life points fell to zero.

"It's the rules!" said the man. "Give me all your star chips! And get off the island!"

No…! thought Maiku.

"Mr. Jaku!" yelled Yugi, rushing up to the Battle Box. She had been the first to wake up, being one of the lightest sleepers of the group.

"Yugi!" said Maiku.

_Who is that guy?_ wondered Yugi. He was a tall man, with a very square jaw, and makeup reminiscent of a clown.

"Well, well!" said the man. "This saves me the trouble! Beating you was Ms. Pegasus' top-priority order, you unlucky little punk!"

"Yugi! Watch out!" said Maiku. "He's a player killer that roams around the island beating duelists and taking their star chips!"

_A player killer!_ thought Yugi.

"I've just eliminated your friend, and you're next!" said the player killer. "Let's duel!"

"Yugi…" said Maiku. "This is as far as I go… I guess I won't get to fight you after all…"

_Mr. Jaku!_ thought Yugi.

"Now, Yugi!" said the player killer. "Get in the Battle Box!"

The other Yugi took over. "Don't worry, Maiku!" she said. "I'll beat this blockhead and get your star chips back!"

The two sat down in the Battle Box.

"Your friend's right," said the player killer. "I2 sent me. But I'm not just any player killer. You can call me Panik, the player killer of darkness!"

_What's his game?_ thought the other Yugi. _The rules of this island require that the duelists win star chips from each other… why did I2 hire someone to interfere with the game from outside?_

"You know how this tournament works, right?" asked Panik. "Whoever collects ten star chips can advance to Pegasus' castle and play in the final rounds. But there can only be four finalists!"

_Hold on!_ thought the other Yugi. _There's forty duelists on the island. Each one brought two star chips, so there should be eighty altogether… if there are four finalists, and each has ten star chips, that makes forty star chips… is the player killers' mission to steal the other forty star chips?!_

"I've taken the lives… I mean, the star chips… of eight people tonight alone!" said Panik. "But Pegasus' most important command is to take out _you,_ Yugi! I'm shocked there's a reward on the head of such a little kid! And I'm going to claim it!" He laughed.

_The moment I lose,_ thought the other Yugi, _Pegasus will gain control of Kaiba Corporation… that's the whole reason this tournament exists!_

"If I beat you, this whole event may as well end right now," said Panik. "Just between you and me, Pegasus is a pretty stingy person… she can easily afford to pay the tournament prize money, of course, but if her plan works, she won't _have_ to!"

"What?!" asked Maiku. "Are we just his guinea pigs?"

"Just so you know," said Panik, "after I beat you, the plan is for us to crush every last gamer and win this tournament! I2 will brook no competition! No other masters like you will arise!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "You're dreaming if you think you can beat me…" she said. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I won't lose!" _I'll beat Pegasus with my bare hands… and my cards!_

"Fool! You can't defeat me!" said Panik. "No one defeats the darkness!" He laughed. "Night falls quickly on this island, doesn't it? But there's no sleep for duelists… while they lie in their beds, with their guards down, the darkness creeps in and destroys them! Like that man…" He laughed again.

_Maiku!_ thought the other Yugi.

_Yugi…_ thought Maiku. Out loud, he said, "I lost to the player killer… now I'm disqualified… I have to leave the island… my dream of fighting you is over…"

"Maiku, don't worry!" said the other Yugi. "I'll get you star chips back from him!"

_Yugi…_ thought Maiku. _Why would you… for me…?_

"Listen up, blockhead!" said the other Yugi. "Attacking under the cover of night is the act of a coward! You're no duelist as far as I'm concerned!"

"Wh-what…? You brat!" said Panik.

"You're nothing more than a _thief!_ " said the other Yugi. "I'll teach you that a thief can't take the life of a real duelist!"

"Why you little…!"

"For this duel," said the other Yugi, "I'll bet all six of my star chips! You bet the eight star chips you took from Maiku. To make up the difference, I bet my life!"

"Hmm…" said Panik. "That _sounds_ good, but excuse me if I don't believe you… talk is cheap, so in lieu of a guarantee, I'll do this!" He hit a button on his duel glove, which had two rows of twenty slots for star chips, which sent a wire lasso from the glove. The loop of the lasso landed around the other Yugi's neck. He laughed again. "Some duelists flee from us out of fear… we use this wire so they don't get away! You guys are just prey let loose on the island for us to hunt! If I win, I'll choke you to death… maybe twice, to get my two star chips' worth!"

"No! Yugi!" said Ansei.

Maiku growled. "How low can they be?!"

"Fine," said the other Yugi. "If I lose, you can have my head! But if you lose, you have to play a penalty game!"

Panik laughed.

The two shuffled their decks and duel began, each duelist having 2000 life points.

"Well, well," said Panik. "You must be pretty popular! You got your little crowd to cheer for you? But I've got a friend too. The darkness itself! My first card is the Castle of Dark Illusions!" The Castle had 1200 attack points and 2500 defense points, though the other Yugi wasn't sure how a castle could attack in the first place. When the Castle was summoned, it hovered over the game field. He laughed. "The darkness is gathering!" he said. Indeed, dark clouds formed on the field.

"What?!" said the other Yugi.

Panic laughed. "Darkness… the primal darkness that existed before the world! And my castle has the power to bring it back!"

The dark clouds had now become so thick the other Yugi couldn't see Panik's cards, or even Panik himself.

Panik laughed again. "Too bad, Yugi… your monsters don't get their field power bonus because of my own field spell! But my dark monsters get infinite strength! Now play a card! Any card! The darkness will bury you!"

"Hm…" _I'd better be cautious,_ thought the other Yugi. _I don't know what he's planning…_ Out loud, she said, "I play the Celtic Guardian in defense mode!"

"And I'll play _this_ card…" said Panik. "Attack! Dark Absolute! Your elf knight dies!"

Unfortunately, the other Yugi couldn't even see Panic's monster.

"His technique is so dirty!" said Maiku.

Panik laughed. "Now do you see? There's nothing you can do!"

_The obvious way to get rid of this darkness is to get rid of the Castle of Dark Illusions… but I don't have a card that can break through that fortress' defense! Now… what to do…?_

"Come on, Yugi!" said Panik. "Play a card!"

_There has to be a way to beat it!_ She drew a card. "I play the Winged Dragon in defense mode!" she said.

"On my turn I won't attack…" said Panik. "Instead, I'll play another monster in the dark!"

_Another one…_ thought the other Yugi. _But what is it? All I see is its gleaming eyes…_

Panik laughed.

_Maybe there's another way to shed some light on the situation… I don't know if it'll work, but I have to try!_ Out loud, she said, "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress! Attack! Fireball Barrage!"

The dragon spat fire at the darkness. For a second, the other Yugi could see a pair of draconic creatures.

Panik laughed. "Too bad!" he said. "You can light up the darkness for an instant, but you can't fight my monsters at the same time!"

_He's right,_ the other Yugi thought. _I can't aim at what I can't see… I may have been able to shine some light for a moment, but when the fireballs go out, the darkness remains…_

"Dark Absolute!" said Panik. "The dragon is blasted apart!" The other Yugi's life points were now 1600. That meant that at least one of the monsters had 1800 attack, which meant that to be guaranteed to defeat at least one monster in combat, the other Yugi had to summon a monster with greater attack points. And get rid of the darkness, of course.

"You're as good as dead, Yugi!" said Panik. "The dark is my home! As long as it's dark, I'm invincible!"

The other Yugi drew a card, and chuckled. "You may be happy now," she said, "but I don't think you'd like being in the dark forever… even though it covers your evil face, I'll have to see it again when I shut down your little game! I found a way to beat your darkness!" Panik's eyes widened. The other Yugi lifted up a single card, ensuring that it faced her. "This card is the key!" she said. "Your life ends in five turns! Get ready! I'll show you the true darkness you'll wish you never knew!"

Panik laughed, but still seemed slightly nervous. "Don't make me laugh!" he said. "Consider your situation before you open your big mouth! As long as the Castle of Dark Illusions hangs over the board, my monsters can hide in the dark! You can't attack them! As long as it's dark, I can't lose!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "No true duelist gives up a fight when someone else tells them they'll lose… you have at least a shred of pride… I'll give you that much!" She chuckled again. "Then how about this! I'll show you the card that I'm going to beat you with!" She held up the card from before, this time flipping it so that Panik could see what it was. "Presto! Behold… the Swords of Revealing Light!" Panik's eyes widened. "These holy swords have the power to block the enemy's attacks for three turns! Even if they try to hide in the darkness, the light of the swords will find them! Trapped in the light… unable to attack… your monsters will be _destroyed_ by this card!"

Panik's eyes widened further.

The other Yugi chuckled. "You'll see what I mean in five turns! I'll play Curse of Dragon in defense mode! And one more thing… I'll play this card face-down on the field. That's the end of my turn… I'm done now. Four turns until you die!"

"Excuse me, Maiku…" said Ansei. "Is it all right for Yugi to show her cards like that?"

"It's not against the rules of _this_ format," said Maiku. "Maybe Yugi plans to use _another_ weapon against the darkness… something _other_ than a card…"

"Something other than a card…?" asked Ansei.

"Yeah…" said Maiku. "As long as he hides in the dark, Yugi can't see him or attack his cards! But there's one thing that can get through the darkness… something you can show but can't see... you know what that is, don't you, Ansei…?"

_Her voice…!_ thought Ansei. _Her words! She'll play mind games!_

_Yugi's planning on using words as a weapon…_ thought Maiku. _Manipulating the player killer into slipping up!_

"Now it's my turn!" said Panik. After he drew a card, he laughed. "You idiot!" he said. "I've never seen a duelist dumb enough to _tell_ me their strategy and show me their cards! I'll make you regret it right now!"

The other Yugi remained silent. So far, her plan was working. No reason to say anything.

"Your so-called 'key to victory' is going to the grave with this card!" continued Panik. "Reaper of the Cards!" Reaper of the Cards was an effect monster with 1800 attack points and 2000 defense points. "I'm going to take your spell card and destroy it!"

From the darkness approached a floating hooded figure whose face was in shadow. It swung its scythe at the other Yugi's set card. "Go, Reaper!" said Panik. "Destroy the Swords of Revealing Light! Card Eraser!" Panic laughed. "Now your trump card is gone! Gone!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "I said the Swords were my key to winning… but I never said I played it on the field!"

Panik was now, well, _panicked._ "What?!" he said. "Wh-why isn't my Reaper doing anything?!"

"Because the card I played facedown was Spellbinding Circle!" said the other Yugi. "A trap card! By attacking the card, the Reaper is caught in the hexagram! Now you can't target any of my spell or trap cards!"

"Y-you!" said Panik. "You tricked me – !"

The other Yugi chuckled. "I'm sorry," she said. "Your turn ended up being a waste! Now it's my turn!" She drew a card. "I'll play the Swords of Revealing Light on the field… this time for real!"

Panik growled.

"And before I'm done," she said, "I'll play another card facedown!"

Panik's eyes widened.

"Can you see it, player killer?" asked the other Yugi.

"See _what?!_ " asked Panik.

"The rope around your neck."

"You fool!" said Panik. "It's you that's about to be hanged! There's no rope around _my_ neck! That's _you!_ "

The other Yugi chuckled. "Don't you realize?" she asked. "You're climbing the steps to your gallows! One step at a time, in the darkness! One step for each turn! Three turns left!" She chuckled. "Darkness is a mirror that throws your own fears back at you. Fear that swallows those with weak hearts… like _you._ "

"L-listen, kid!" stuttered Panik, once again panicked. "The next time you open your mouth, I'm gonna twist your head off!"

"It's your turn," said the other Yugi.

_So…_ thought Maiku, _even in his own territory, Panik is getting scared! Yugi's words have put him on the defensive!_

"All right, blockhead!" said the other Yugi. "Draw a card!"

Panik did just that. He laughed. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "My ultimate card! Come forth, great dark ruler!"

_The King of Yamimakai – Lord of the Dark World!_ thought the other Yugi. _I can't see it in the darkness but it seems like its attack is very high!_

Panik laughed. "That's the card that's going to kill you!" he exclaimed. He laughed again. "Too bad for you! It'll all be over before you can play your trump card!"

The other Yugi remained stoic.

"King of Yamimakai!" said Panic. "Obliterate Yugi's dragon! Evil Shock Wave!"

The Winged Dragon was blasted apart.

"Yes! Die!" exclaimed Panik. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The other Yugi chuckled. "It's fine to attack, but you should have paid more attention to your situation!"

"What?!" said Panik. "The dragon is hiding behind the spell-bound Reaper! You're going to use my Reaper as a shield!"

"The Reaper is destroyed!" said the other Yugi. Panic was now at 1200 life points. She chuckled. "My monster is unharmed! Now it's my turn! Swords of Revealing Light, activate!"

"What?!" yelled Panik. "No! What is that hanging in the air?!

"The light of the Swords makes all your monsters visible!" said the other Yugi. She chuckled. "The darkness is over… you have two more turns left to live!"

Panik growled.

"For three turns," explained the other Yugi, "the Swords prevent your monsters from moving! That includes attacks! Now what are you going to do?"

Panik growled again.

"It's your turn!" she said. "Hurry up and draw a card!"

Panic let out a "Feh…" as he drew his next card. He laughed when he saw what he drew. "The cards smile on me today!" he said. "You won't be able to touch me for two turns! Yellow Luster Shield! I play it on all my cards! The Shield boosts the defense of all my cards!" He laughed. "As long as the Shield is on the field, your monsters can't so much as scratch me! Do you _still_ believe you'll beat me in two turns?"

The other Yugi remained stoic. Try as he might, nothing that Panik could possibly do would delay his demise.

"What can she do…?" asked Ansei.

"Just when the darkness was gone and we thought he was vulnerable, he played another card to protect himself…" said Maiku. "The player killer plays defensively, while Yugi plays offensively… but if her enemy's defense is this tight, she can't defeat him in straight combat. She'll have to use card effects."

Panik laughed. "It's your move!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "Don't you realize you've exposed your own weakness?"

Panik's eyes widened.

"I've been analyzing your strategy since the duel started! You're a coward who can't do anything without making sure you're safe first!"

"Y-you… you say that again! Did you call me a coward?!"

"Yes! You cower in the dark, and when that doesn't work, you use a shield… you may be a big man, but even I'm tougher than you!" said the other Yugi. "I'm not surprised you beat all those duelists, when you ambushed them in their beds and forced them into battle! You're nothing more than a paper tiger!"

"Why you… I'm going to kill you…!"

"Then let me tell you this!" said the other Yugi. "I calculated that you'd use a shield. You die in two turns! You can't escape from that fate!"

"I-it'll never happen!" said Panik, though his stutter gave away the fear he actually felt.

"My turn!" said the other Yugi, drawing a card. "I play Gaia the Fierce Knight!" It had 2300 attack points and 2100 defense points. "And I'll activate my other facedown card! Namely, Polymerization! Gaia and the Dragon form Gaia the Dragon Champion!" Gaia the Dragon Champion had 2600 attack points and 2100 defense points. "My turn is over… on my next turn, Gaia will defeat you!"

Panik hesitated a bit, before drawing a card. "I play Metal Guardian in defense mode!" he said.

"How pathetic…" murmured the other Yugi. Speaking up, she said. "All you can think about is being safe from attack… you're too weak for words!"

"You fool!" said Panik. "After I live through your next turn, I'll attack you with everything!"

"It's too late," said the other Yugi. "You were caught in my trap the moment I played the Swords of Revealing Light. You're already dead."

"What?!" said Panik.

"Security can be a trap!" said the other Yugi. "You haven't realized… the more you protect yourself, the more you cut off your escape! It's my turn! The last turn!" She drew a card. "And I play the Catapult Turtle! I put Gaia on the Catapult and fire him towards my target! This will be a mighty blow!"

"It's no use!" said Panik. "My monsters are protected by the Yellow Luster Shield!"

"I never said I was attacking your _monsters,_ " said the other Yugi. "My target is the Castle!" With the Castle's boosted defense being 3100 and Gaia's boosted attack being the same amount, both were destroyed. The other Yugi's life points were now 300, as the move cost her half of the Dragon Champion's life points.

Panik laughed. "The exterior flotation ring was destroyed but the castle itself is unharmed! You couldn't do it after all! You couldn't beat me on this turn!"

The other Yugi remained stoic.

"My turn!" said Panik. "And then I attack, because at this moment, the Swords of Revealing Light disappear! Die!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "Don't you realize?" she asked. "Why your castle is still floating even though its flotation ring was destroyed?"

"Huh?" asked Panik.

"There's a reason I played the Swords of Revealing Light. And it wasn't just to see your ugly cards." The castle fell down.

"Run, monsters!" Panik pleaded.

"They can't run," said the other Yugi. "Your Yellow Luster Shield is keeping them in! And even if it weren't, they would be too slow!" With that, Panik's life points fell to 0.

"I hope you're ready, player killer!" said the other Yugi, wdjat forming on her forehead once more. "Penalty game!"

Panik saw a vision. He was walking up the stairs of a gallows. _No,_ he thought. Soon, he realized that he was on a trap door. _Not that…_ He screamed.

Of course, in reality, he was seizing his own head, screaming.

"They say pride goes before a fall," said the other Yugi. "Now fall into the true darkness!" She left the Battle Box with her own star chips and the eight that Panic had bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was why I chose not to change the Duelist Kingdom rules (much). I am not very good at thinking up duels from scratch, and altering the Duelist Kingdom rules so fundamentally would require writing many, many duels from scratch.
> 
> As for the Player Killer of Darkness, my initial plan was for him to introduce himself as such, and for Atem to nickname him Panic, his dub name, so that I could just type Panic when referring to him, to save time typing. But then I realized I could essentially combine them, so that Panic is a codename of sorts and Player Killer of Darkness is a sort of [unofficial nickname](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedBaron) he gives himself. I'm doing a similar thing with the Masks of Light and Darkness, giving them their less-clunky dub names of Lumis and Umbra. See? The dub did _some_ things right!
> 
> I also slipped in a "something you can show but can't see" just for the fun of it.


	40. Hope

"You did it!" said Ansei.

"Yugi…" said Maiku. "That was amazing!"

"Maiku, these star chips are yours," said the other Yugi.

Maiku was silent.

"What's the matter?" asked the other Yugi. "Take them!"

"I can't accept those star chips," said Maiku. "You fought for them. They're yours. You see, I lost a battle as a duelist. I'm out of the running. Now that I'm out of chips, it's time for me to leave."

"But Maiku – !" said Ansei.

"I'm glad I came here and met you guys," said Maiku. "See ya…"

"Wait a minute!" said Jounouchi.

"Guys!" said Ansei. "You're awake!"

"Who could stay asleep with all that talking?" grumbled Jounouchi.

Maiku chuckled. "What's wrong with you guys? You do everything together… even say goodbye…"

"Hey Bakura," said Honda, "what time is it?"

"A little bit before eleven," said Bakura. "We've got one more hour."

"You're our friend, right?" asked Honda.

"What…?" asked Maiku. Where did this come from?

"When we were eating, didn't you say, 'we'll be enemies come tomorrow'? But it's not tomorrow yet! So in other words, we're still friends! Am I right?"

Maiku's brows raised. _Friends…!_ Nobody had ever called him their friend. Ever since his parents died…

"Maiku, you, Jounouchi, and I came to this island fair and square," said the other Yugi. "But there are others who hired their skills out, who destroyed for the sake of destruction! Like Pegasus' assassins, the player killers! They're not duelists as far as _I'm_ concerned! I don't want them disgracing the honor of our battles!"

Maiku was silent. The other Yugi did have a point… duelists were _supposed_ to have honor… and sneaking up on a duelist and forcing them to duel was _not_ honorable… but still… would he be stooping to their level?

"Here, Maiku!" said the other Yugi. "Take these star chips! And let's decide which true duelist is the strongest!"

"Maiku…" said Ansei. "You said it yourself. It was your dream to fight Yugi…"

"Yes, but…" Could Maiku really do such a thing? It was in the rules! All duelists who lost their star chips were disqualified! He _had_ lost all his star chips… but who was there to _enforce_ those rules, now?

"Man! Come on!" said Jounouchi. "Nothing's getting solved if you keep moping! If you won't take them, I will!" With that, she swiped the star chips from the other Yugi's hands before she could react.

"Wait a minute, you moron!" said Maiku, glaring. "Don't you dare take my star chips! I'll never forgive you for this! Give 'em back, you – "

Jounouchi laughed. "Here ya go!" Her plan worked! "Maiku Jaku…" she said. "If your pride won't let you battle with those star chips, then throw them in the ocean! It's up to you, but if I were you, I wouldn't throw them away! Not the stars, and not your dreams."

Maiku was silent.

"Man! I'm bushed!" said Jounouchi. I'm going to bed!"

"Yugi…" said Maiku. "I'll _borrow_ these star chips. While I'm in your debt, I don't have the right to battle you…" Face taking on a determined expression, he said, "But, when I earn that right, when that time comes, we can fight! Fair and square!"

"All right!" said the other Yugi. "I'll be waiting!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part was why I ended up including the Panik duel. Originally I thought it was pointless (because it had been a hot minute since I had read the manga), but I couldn't think of a way _besides_ this duel and its aftermath happening to make Maiku willingly give up his star chips when Yugi loses against Kaiba.


	41. Perfect Storm

"I see…" said Pegasus. "You're sure the report is accurate?"

"Yes ma'am," said the security guard. "We received word from one of our agents in the Kaiba household!"

"So," said Pegasus. "Setomi Kaiba has come out of her coma, and is headed to my island…" Sighing, with a hand on her forehead, she said "Oh no! What a mess!"

"Ms. Pegasus!" said the security guard.

"If that is true," said Pegasus, "we may need to change this entire plan…"

"No!" said one of the Big Five. "We can't turn back now!"

"Cursed Setomi," said another. "Why didn't she just _die?!_ "

"Now, now," said Pegasus. "There's no cause for alarm. Fear not! The plan can go on! The moment we defeat Yugi, the deal is complete! Kaiba Corporation will belong to you gentlemen and me! It's all under control…" _And may God help me if it isn't,_ she added in her head. "Setomi Kaiba will never reach Duelist Kingdom. I have already taken care of it!"

"Heh heh… good…" said one of the Big Five. "We'll take your word for it, Ms. Pegasus!"

"That's right!" said another. "If Kaiba were alive, more than this deal would be in danger!"

"Have no fear," said Pegasus. She exited to the balcony. _Poor Kaiba,_ she thought. _I'll send you back to hell where you belong…_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things were, in fact, going wrong.

A helicopter plastered with the Kaiba Corporation logo flew over ocean towards the island.

"How long has it been since the Death-T tournament?" asked Kaiba, examining the new deck she had put together, since she couldn't find her old one. She needed some idea of how long she had been comatose.

"Oh… about six months, Mistress Setomi," said the security guard in the back of the helicopter with Kaiba.

"I see…" said Kaiba. Lots of things could go wrong in six months. Especially if you were the CEO of a company. "It feels longer," she said. "It feels like it's been years since I've touched these cards…"

"We were all waiting for you, ma'am. Waiting and hoping you'd get better…" The guard handed her an envelope. It contained a report detailing everything that happened while she was gone. It had been left with the maid, the only person in their whole estate that she trusted.

"I'm very worried, ma'am," said the guard. "I hope Mistress Mokuno is safe…"

_Mokuno…_ thought Kaiba. Mokuno was the one person most worried for Kaiba's safety. How had Mokuno dealt with all that?

"So Pegasus made a secret plot with traitors in my own home to gain control of Kaiba Corporation… and kidnapped my sister," said Kaiba, darkly. Even the security guard looked alarmed. "I won't rest until I destroy her," she said, glaring at no one in particular.

She was, of course, coming prepared. In the briefcase she was taking with her, she not only had many, many cards (probably far more than was strictly necessary), but also, a pair of new devices she had finished just before that duel with Yugi. Duel Disks. Their apparent purpose was to enhance the experience of dueling by projecting holographic monsters right in front of the duelists and allowing them to duel anywhere, but they also had a secret purpose. Overcoming Pegasus' uncanny ability to predict what cards her opponent would use next. By forcing the duelists to stand a much-farther distance away from each other, whatever method Pegasus used to predict what cards her opponent played would be severely compromised, if not made impossible. At least, in theory.

"Mistress Setomi," said the security guard, "I mean no disrespect, but please don't forget that there is another enemy on the island… the girl who started all this… if you can beat her, ma'am, you can truly claim supremacy."

_Yugi…_ Kaiba thought. "She's the last thing I remember. Her fighting technique was unstoppable… I don't mind if my emotions boil over in revenge again… I want to battle her one more time…" Yugi had been the one person who had ever been challenging to defeat in a long time. She reminded her of why she had started playing Duel Monsters in the first place. The anticipation of a true challenge. Being forced to fully use her wits and strategic thinking skills. The glory of a hard-earned victory. None of these things had occurred to her in a long, long time. She felt more alive than she had in forever.

She suddenly realized something was wrong. _The position of the moon from my window hasn't remained constant. It used to be on the other side. This helicopter is going in circles!_ She looked to her side. _Hmph… them too._ Suddenly, she found herself at gunpoint. A bald security guard was holding a gun to her head.

"Seems like you've noticed, Setomi Kaiba…"

Kaiba chuckled. "So you switched sides to Pegasus…" she said.

"That's right, you have to die, and sink to the bottom of the sea," said the security guard. "Are you ready?" He chuckled.

"Here, just let me get these out of the way," said Kaiba, holding a few cards above her head.

"I see…" said the security guard. "Truly the little lord of the cards, aren't you? So those are your last words…" Kaiba looked in the guard's direction, preparing herself to react quickly.

"Die, Setomi!" said the guard. But as he said this, Kaiba had blocked the hammer of the gun with the cards she had over her head. She grabbed the gun by the barrel, and glared at the guard.

"You worthless trash…" she said darkly. "You threatened my life, and made me damage a rare card!" She snatched the gun out of his hand, in such a way that the joint at the base of his index finger bent backwards. He let out a cry of pain. She removed the card from the gun, and pointed it at him. "If you want to kill me," she said, "you'll have to do better than that!"

The guard let out an "Eep!"

"Open the door!" she commanded.

"Y-you're not… please have mercy!" pleaded the guard.

"You too, pilot!"

"But…"

"Don't worry," she said. "I can fly a helicopter. Even if I splatter your brains all over the cockpit, I can just wipe them off and keep going. So do it! Jump into the sea!"

With that, both guard and pilot jumped overboard. Kaiba sat down in the pilot's seat. _Now, to Pegasus' island!_ she thought. _Full speed ahead!_ She didn't know how much time the pilot had wasted, so she had to hurry.

Later, at 11:10 PM on the island…

The five were asleep when they heard a sound. Yugi and Jounouchi were the first ones to wake up, followed quickly by the others.

"What is it?" asked Jounouchi.

"It's a helicopter!" said Yugi.

As the helicopter passed overhead, Jounouchi yelled, "Hey you! What time do you think it is?! I'm gonna beat that jerk up! I gotta duel tomorrow!" Did the universe have it out for them?

"Look! The helicopter is landing!" said Yugi.

"Who the heck would come to this island in the middle of the night?" asked Jounouchi. If it was intended as a dramatic entrance… the person had arrived far too late for that.

"Hey guys…" said Ansei, wiping his eyes. "What's going on?"

"It's too noisy to sleep!" complained Jounouchi.

When the helicopter landed, Yugi was shocked to find out just who was coming out of it.

"Kaiba!" she said.

Kaiba looked in the direction of the voice that had called her name. _Hmph…_ she thought. _Yugi!_ Of course. It just _had_ to be somebody who couldn't do jack squat about the circumstances that brought her here.

"Is that who I think it is?" asked Ansei.

"Kaiba came out of her coma!" said Jounouchi.

"But why is she here?" asked Yugi.

Kaiba merely glared at the five. What did they want with her?

"Hey Kaiba!" said Yugi, running up to her.

"Yugi, wait!" said Bakura. Not that that stopped Yugi. She came to a stop in front of Kaiba.

"We meet again, Yugi," said Kaiba.

"Yup!" said Yugi. Suddenly remembering something, she pulled something out of her pocket, murmuring, "Oh yeah…" She held up a deck of Duel Monsters cards. "Here… someone had your cards. I got them back for you…"

Kaiba took her deck back from Yugi. "I'll say thank you for now… but don't be mistaken! I'm not the kind of person who'll lose a fight and walk away with my tail between my legs. I'll defeat you sooner or later." She turned to walk away.

Yugi's brows raised. _Kaiba…!_ she thought. Maybe she hadn't changed after all…

"And one more thing," Kaiba added, turning her head to face the others. "It's me who will defeat Pegasus! I'll protect Kaiba Corporation with my own hands!"

Yugi stared as Kaiba walked away. She wanted to help her, she really did, but how was she to do so?

Jounouchi growled. "Hold it right there!" she yelled, running up to Kaiba. "There's no way I'm lettin' you go… don't tell me you forgot what you did to us at Death-T!" Having made it ahead of Kaiba, she turned around and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt.

"Jounouchi! Stop…!" protested Yugi.

Kaiba chuckled. "So you were there too? I almost forgot…"

"Why you…!"

"So you're in this tournament too, eh?" Kaiba chuckled. "Now I know the level of the competition…"

Jounouchi growled. "I'll kick your – "

"No! Jounouchi!" said Yugi, trying in vain to keep Jounouchi from beating Kaiba up. Honda joined in, too, eventually managing to get Jounouchi's hands off Kaiba's collar.

"Let it go, Jounouchi," said Honda.

"C'mon, Kaiba!" said Jounouchi. "I'll fight you right now! Duelist-style!"

"I don't have time to waste right now," said Kaiba.

"Kaiba!" said Yugi. "You're just the same as before! Haven't you changed at all…?"

"Yugi…" said Kaiba. "Do you expect me to forget about the past, grin like an idiot, and join forces with you? Don't make me laugh. To this day, your stupid friendship disgusts me!" She turned around. Yugi looked down at the ground.

"Yugi… it's useless…" said Ansei. "No matter what you say…" _Kaiba won't change unless she wants to,_ he added mentally.

"Yugi, look over there," said Kaiba. _Pegasus' castle. That is where she waits! Pegasus! A woman with immeasurable powers! Creator of Duel Monsters… her mind created the rules, her hands created all the cards…_ Out loud, she said, "Yugi… even with your skill, you can't beat Pegasus. I've seen her duel just once in the past…" No, could that have even been called a duel? It had been so one-sided! "I was at a stadium to watch a duel that I was invited to as a guest. The duel was between Katherine 'Bandit Kate' Howard, the number one prize hunter in America, and Millicent J. Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters herself.

"Kate had issued a challenge to Pegasus. At first, Pegasus was uninterested, but accepted the challenge, under two conditions: One, that the prize would be one million dollars, and two, to hold it in a stadium capable of holding at least 50,000 people, broadcast nationwide, with the earnings split between the sponsors and TV stations. Pegasus used the time before the duel to gather children unfamiliar with the game and taught them how to play. Pegasus gave one child a deck of Duel Monsters cards. But something unexpected happened.

"Pegasus sat there a moment, in deep focus. When she was done, she started writing on a piece of paper, and called the child over. She told the child that if he did exactly what the paper said, he would win! And that was exactly what happened. She also offered to have I2 work with Kaiba Corporation on the Battle Boxes… I don't know what kind of trick she used across the table, but there's a possibility to win if I challenge her with a Duel Disk!. Yugi, I'm going to Pegasus' castle to take back what I almost lost!"

"Kaiba!" said Yugi.

Kaiba turned her head back. Ah. Yes. The 'other' Yugi, as others seemed to call her.

"Just like you, we too have precious things we can't lose! And we will protect them! I'm going to beat Pegasus!"

Kaiba turned her head back to face away from Yugi. "Then let me put it another way," she said. "I'm going into Pegasus' castle before you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut the Kaiba versus Jounouchi duel on purpose. Initially, it was purely for emotional reasons. I hate seeing Jounouchi lose, especially to someone who treats him like crap. But then, when I was rereading the manga for the purpose of writing the fic, I realized another thing: _Kaiba accepting the challenge makes no sense._
> 
> It's perfectly in-character for Jounouchi to rashly challenge Kaiba to a duel, but it makes no sense for Kaiba to accept here. We're given a reason for Kaiba to go to the island (saving Mokuba), and we have a pretty good reason for Kaiba to accept a challenge from Jounouchi in most circumstances (because he finds Jounouchi annoying and he generally doesn't back down from challenges), but it makes more sense for Kaiba to prioritize saving Mokuba over defeating people at Duel Monsters when as far as he would know, there would be nothing useful to gain from winning the duel. As we find out in a later chapter, Kaiba didn't even _know_ that the star chips were actually a physical requirement to enter the castle. And Jounouchi didn't even bet any star chips, so Kaiba literally gained nothing of use from winning the duel. All it did was waste his time.
> 
> If I did include that duel, however, I would have named the chapter "A Duel of Ice and Fire," as a reference to the book "A Song of Ice and Fire," as dragons and warriors play heavily into both, and, of course, Kaiba and Jounouchi's respective personalities. And my own addiction to pop-culture references.
> 
> I still would have had Jounouchi lose, but in a way that makes him look less idiotic than he did in the actual duel. He _didn't even set any monsters in defense position,_ and attacked with monsters that had no chance of not getting destroyed. If he didn't know how to set monsters in defense position (understandable with how different the Duel Disk Mk I is from how we've seen duels work previously, though it doesn't seem very different from the Battle Boxes), he should have _asked._ Kaiba likely would have explained (in his usual condescending way, since this is Jounouchi we're talking about here, but a condescending explanation is better than no explanation), and Jounouchi would not have lost so badly.
> 
> As you can tell, I'm a little bitter about that particular duel, and like to pretend it never happened.


	42. Duel of the Living Dead

2:30 AM.

Two security guards stood in front of the doors to Pegasus' castle.

"Hey, did you hear?" asked one of them, a dark-haired man. "They lost contact with the helicopter pilot!"

"What?" asked Saruwatari, the other guard in front of the doors. "Did they crash into the sea…?"

"No…" said the dark-haired one. "The radio didn't go dead. I hear it's still transmitting, but nobody's answering!"

"What the…?! Wait… now that you mention it, I thought I heard a chopper earlier tonight…"

Kaiba made it to the castle. When she had finished climbing the second flight of stairs, the two security guards were shocked.

"What the – ?!"

"It's you! K-Kai…"

"Get Pegasus!" ordered Kaiba. "Tell her Setomi Kaiba is here to see her!" There was a time and place for polite negotiation, but now was neither of those things.

The guards opened the doors. Out stepped Crocketts. "Well, well, Ms. Kaiba…!" he said, in a surprisingly cordial tone considering the situation. "This _is_ a surprise! We weren't expecting you this late…"

"Hmph," said Kaiba.

Crocketts was briefly silent. He then said, "Please come in…" Kaiba followed him into the courtyard. "This is your second time on the island, isn't it? That's right… I remember now… you were here for the party to celebrate the completion of the Card Battle Simulation Box!"

Kaiba glared darkly. "Enough chit-chat," she said. "I know you kidnapped Mokuno! Where is she?" What did he hope to gain by wasting her time?

"What? Mokuno?" asked Crocketts, confused for a moment. "Oh," he said, remembering. "That's right, your younger sister… 'kidnapped?' Please… why would we do _that…?_ I'm afraid I haven't seen her around…"

"You're a waste of time!" said Kaiba. "Let me talk to Pegasus!" The coward. Why did she send a henchman instead of confronting her directly?

Checking his watch, Crocketts said, "I'm afraid that's impossible. It's three in the morning… Ms. Pegasus is in bed…" Looking back up from his watch and darkly smiling, he said, "How about this? I'll get a room for you… tonight you can rest, and tomorrow you can – "

"I want to see her now!" Time was of the essence here!

Crocketts chuckled. "I understand, ma'am," he said. "Ms. Pegasus is right behind the next gate. _If_ you can open it…"

Kaiba approached the gate, fed up with Crocketts' time-wasting nonsense. But the sight before her was rather unusual.

"What in…?!" _A padlock?! With star-shaped holes?!_ What was the meaning of this?

"That's right, ma'am," said Crocketts. "The only way to open this gate is to put ten star chips in the mechanism. In other words, only the chosen few duelists who survive the duels are allowed to pass beyond this point… you and I are no exception."

Well, gee. This sure was fantastic. Kaiba was not dealing with this bullcrap.

"Now, if you don't mind, there is a room for you in the annex," said Crocketts. "Please step this way…"

Dawn of the second day. 34.5 hours remain.

"Wake up, guys!" said Jounouchi. She, along with the others, went back to sleep after Kaiba walked off to Pegasus' castle. "It's the last day of the tournament! Let's go win duels and get star chips! And then go to Pegasus' castle!"

The others woke up. Honda complained about being tired. _At least give me time to fully wake up before you go yelling!_ she thought. _We aren't those fictional characters who can wake up and be alert instantly!_

"Wow, somebody's excited!" said Yugi. It seemed Jounouchi was more of a morning person than a night person.

"I wonder if Kaiba made it to the castle last night…?" said Bakura.

"You guys are up!" said Ansei.

"Oh, hey Ansei!" said Yugi. "Morning!"

"Hey," said Jounouchi. "Where's Mr. Jaku?"

"He was gone when I woke up," said Ansei. "He left the tent and enough food for all of us." He had put all of it in his bag, leaving it very heavy. "He must have gone on alone. Oh, before I forget, he left this note for you. It's an I.O.U.!"

"An I.O.U., huh…?" said Yugi. She looked at the note. It read, "To Yugi – I owe you eight star chips. – Maiku." 

"Are you guys all packed up?" asked Ansei.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "Let's go!"

"I wonder how many duelists are left on the island…" said Bakura.

"Well," said Jounouchi, "twelve were kicked off the first day… and there must be a bunch who got beaten by player killers in the night… I bet half of the forty participants were disqualified!"

"Well, we still have a whole day left," said Honda. "The important thing is for you to be careful who you fight and get six more chips without getting taken out."

"But we can't take too long," said Yugi. "It's all over when enough duelists collect ten star chips before we do… I heard only four people can reach the castle… and the remaining duelists are all people who made it through the first day… they have to be even stronger than yesterday!"

Jounouchi gulped. "Even stronger…?" she murmured.

"Hey Yugi!" said Honda. "Stop scaring Jounouchi!" She elbowed Jounouchi.

"Who're you callin' scared?!" yelled Jounouchi, grabbing Honda's face and hooking her thumbs inside her cheeks.

Honda let out a muffled, "Yu urr too skehd!"

"Stop fighting, you two!" said Ansei.

Jounouchi let go of Honda's face, saying, "Hmph! No matter who stands in my way, no matter what enemy, I'll take them down!"

"That's the spirit!" said Yugi.

Meanwhile, a small group were spying on the five. A woman with dark, spiky hair in a low ponytail held a pair of binoculars to her face, watching them. A young girl, also with dark spiky hair, but much longer and not tied back, who had dark bags under her eyes and who quite frankly would appear to be dead at first glance pointed at the group, asking "How about them? Let's get those ones!"

"Wait," said the woman. "Look closer… only two of those five are duelists! And one of them's Yugi!"

" _The_ Yugi?" asked the girl.

"We better tell Kate!" said the woman. "We shouldn't do anything before we talk to her!"

Elsewhere, two blond women, one extremely muscular, with an American flag bandanna on her head, and another, extremely skinny with spiky hair, were talking, the muscular woman sitting on a tree stump.

"…so I won the prize!" said the muscular one. "And this is the card I used to do it!"

"Hey Kate!" said the girl.

The muscular woman turned around. "Find any targets?" she asked.

"Yeah," said the girl.

"Two of 'em," said the dark-haired woman.

"Um, but maybe we better leave 'em alone," said the girl. "We might not be able to beat them…"

"One of 'em's that kid Yugi!" said the dark-haired woman.

"Yugi?" asked Kate. "Never heard of him…"

"She's a girl," the dark-haired woman corrected. "She's the kid who beat Kaiba! They say she's a sure thing to get through the tournament and get to the castle!"

" _Who_ says?" asked Kate. "They don't know what they're talking about… I don't give a damn if it's Yugi or whoever… the four of us are going to that castle! That's how it's gonna be!"

"Y-yeah!" said the girl.

"Yeah! That's right!" said the dark-haired woman. "That's what we teamed up for!"

"Man, we're so lucky we met you!" said the blonde woman. A real Duel Monsters pro! We'll storm the castle!"

"Uh-huh," said Kate. "You guys just keep taking my advice, and you don't have anything to worry about. You just listen to Bandit Kate!"

"America's number one prize hunter!" said the girl. "We don't have anything to worry about!"

"Bandit Kate is on our side!"

_Just you wait, Pegasus, you damn priss,_ thought Kate. _I'll never forgive you for humiliating me on national TV! I'm gonna beat you if it's the last thing I do! I'll let these fools win my star chips for me and get to the castle without soiling our hands!_

"What about the girl that's with her?" asked Kate.

"Her friend?" asked the dark-haired woman. "She looks like an amateur."

"All right!" said Kate. "Then she'll be our target! We've got to lure her away from the others!"

"That might be kinda hard," said the dark-haired woman. "They're always in a group…"

"Damn it, you guys, what're you worried about?" asked Kate. "We've just gotta push her down the hole! The entrance to the caves under this island! There's a duel box hidden down there. And I found the way in! This island was occupied by the US military during the war. A lot of troops were buried here. You know about all the other terrain types… but what you don't know is that there's a graveyard field!" Turning towards the girl, she said, "Hey! Your deck's made of zombie cards, right?"

"Um… yeah…" said the girl.

"Good!" said Kate. "You'll play in the crypt!"

"Leave it to me!" said the girl. "They don't call me 'Ghost' Kozuka for nothing!"

"Lemme see your cards, just in case," said Kate.

"Sure," said Kozuka.

Kate looked through Kozuka's deck. "Shit," she said. "This deck won't cut it…" She chuckled, pulling her vest away from her body to reveal the inside. "But don't worry! I'll loan you some of my cards and turn it into the ultimate zombie deck!" Indeed, the inside of her vest had six pockets on each side, each pocket holding a deck of cards. She took out one deck, replaced many of the cards with some of her own, and handed the newly-modified deck to Kozuka, saying, "Use these! You'll win for sure!"

"Wow!" said Kozuka.

"Man, you're ready for anything!" said the dark-haired woman. "You've got all kinds of different pre-prepared decks!"

"Yeah!" said the blond woman. "It's because of your cards that we've been kicking as much butt as we have! Of course, we're only supposed to use one forty-card deck…"

"Who's counting?" asked Kate. "Forget that rule! Besides, technically, I'm not really in this tournament anyway! But when I heard about it, I couldn't keep away!" _It doesn't matter how I do it… if I collect ten star chips and get to the castle, no one will complain! I'll beat Pegasus and win the prize!_

"All right! Let's do it!" said the dark-haired woman.

"Yeah!" said Kozuka.

Later…

"Where are the other duelists?" asked Jounouchi.

"We haven't seen any for a while…" said Ansei.

Spying on the five were the Kozuka and the blond woman.

"Time out, you guys!" said Jounouchi. "I gotta go take a leak!"

She left the group to go do exactly that. When she was done, she suddenly felt hands covering her mouth. She let out muffled sounds of protest.

"All right!" said the blond woman. "We got her!"

Jounouchi continued to protest as she was carried off. Eventually, she was taken to a cave.

"Kate, we got her!" said the dark-haired woman.

"Good!" said Kate. "Throw her in the duel box!"

Jounouchi's three kidnappers went into the Battle Box. Kozuka let go of Jounouchi's leg to sit across from the seat that Jounouchi was forced down onto. "We've been saving a seat for you!" said the dark-haired woman.

When she could finally speak, Jounouchi yelled, "What th…?! Who are you people?!" She was rather unsettled by the atmosphere of the cave.

"Welcome to the crypt," said Kozuka. "My zombie cards will make this your grave!"

Meanwhile, outside…

"What's taking Jounouchi so long?" asked Yugi.

"Probably number 2," said Honda.

"Don't be gross!" said Ansei. It was bad enough when Jounouchi had stated her _exact_ business that needed taking care of!

Meanwhile, in the cave…

"Now, let's duel!" said Kozuka. "My deck of zombies is waiting to pull the meat from your bones…" She laughed.

"All right, that's enough introduction!" said the dark-haired woman. "Get out your cards! Time to play! Your decks have been shuffled!"

Jounouchi let out a shaky breath.

"Now! Let's start the game!" said Kozuka. "Draw your cards!"

_I'm scared,_ thought Jounouchi. _This is bad… I'm dead meat!_

"We'll both bet all our star chips," said Kozuka. "Put all four of them on the table!"

Jounouchi did exactly that. _If I lose, it's all over… but I gotta fight! If I run now, I'll be a coward! And if I act like a coward, I won't be able to look Yugi in the eye!_ Out loud, she said, "Let's go!" Her expression had turned from fear to determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would have been funny to fem!Keith Karen. Then again, a female version of Bandit Keith would be the exact kind of woman Karens do not like. But that might have made it funnier. But I'm sticking with Kate. It sounds vaguely close to Keith as a name
> 
> Also, I wanted to have at least one gag where somebody who has heard Yugi's name but hasn't seen her assumes she's a boy. I have a couple more "mistaken for opposite gender" gags in the future, though they will be more overt.
> 
> I decided with regards to swearing that I would keep it relatively mild, since more severe swears don't fit very well with the series at all.
> 
> I ended up cutting the dream sequence and Jounouchi flashing back to it because neither would have happened if Jounouchi had never dueled Kaiba. It did happen in the manga, but the anime made it worse, because the NAS anime just _loves_ adding unnecessary jokes at Jounouchi's expense. I still like the anime, but it did Jounouchi dirty.


	43. Darkest Night

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 2000 life points.

Meanwhile, outside…

"Jounouchi's sure taking a long time," said Ansei.

"Yeah, you said it," said Honda.

"It's been at least twenty minutes!" said Bakura.

"Maybe she got lost?" said Ansei.

"Naw, that can't be!" said Honda. "She's got the best sense of direction out of all of us!"

"Umm, I hope she didn't accept a challenge without telling us," said Yugi.

"Now _that_ might be it!" said Honda. "She's been desperate to prove herself since she got here! I wouldn't put it past her to try to get more star chips if the opportunity presented itself!"

"Let's split up and look for her!" said Yugi.

"Bakura and I will check the Duel Boxes," said Honda. "You and Ansei look in the forest!"

"Okay!" said Yugi. With that, the four split up.

Yugi and Ansei walked through the forest, Yugi calling Jounouchi's name repeatedly.

Honda and Bakura walked to the nearest Battle Box.

"Well, she's not in this box," said Honda.

"Let's look for the next one!" said Bakura.

Yugi and Ansei were both calling Jounouchi's name.

"Oh no, she's not over here, either," said Yugi.

Meanwhile, in the cave…

"Here's my first card!" said Jounouchi. "Take this, Axe Raider!" Axe Raider had 1700 attack and 1150 defense points.

"Axe Raider, huh?" asked Kozuka. "Just a plain old common warrior card, nothing for me to worry about. All right, I play this! Medusa's Ghost!"

"Don't," said Kate. "Hold on. Don't play that card. Play the card on the very left! I put that card in your deck. Use that one!"

"But… this card's weaker than Axe Raider! It'll get destroyed!"

"Just do as I say and you can't go wrong!" said Kate.

"Hey you!" said Jounouchi. "Fight me by yourself! Stop asking your friends for help!"

"I play Zanki! Attack Mode! Zanki had 1500 attack points. "Battle!"

"Axe Raider strikes!" said Jounouchi. "Gale Cut! He kills the samurai!" Kozuka's life points were now 1800.

"Guh… he got him…" said Kozuka. 

"Yes! I did it!" said Jounouchi. "Pick a grave! Any grave! I win!"

Kozuka growled.

"What's the matter, Zombie Girl?" asked Jounouchi rhetorically. "Your side's empty! Play your next card!"

Kozuka drew a card. She attempted to play a zombie card.

"No!" said Kate. "The second card from the left." That card was Crawling Dragon, another non-zombie card, this time with 1600 attack and 1400 defense. It was going to get destroyed the moment it was put on the board.

Noticing Kozuka's grimace, Kate said, "Don't worry! I have a strategy for you to win. Just trust my awesome intellect! I'm the original undefeatable duelist!"

"Got it!" said Kozuka. "I play Crawling Dragon in defense mode!"

"And I chop it up!" said Jounouchi. Indeed, the dragon was slain immediately.

"My next card is this! Crass Clown!" It had 1350 attack and 1400 defense.

"Go back to the circus, carny! I play the Flame Swordsman!" Kozuka's life points were now 1350.

Kozuka's eyes widened.

"Yes! I can do it! I can win!" said Jounouchi. _Looking back,_ she thought, _I've always relied on Yugi… I wasn't confident enough to trust my own instincts. But not this time! This time I'll win on my own! I'll overcome my own weakness!_ Out loud, she said. "Hey, you three! After I beat your friend, why don't you all fight me?" She laughed. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Kozuka drew a card. "Now I get it!" she said. "Kate was waiting for me to draw this card!"

"Now!" said Kate. "Play your trump card!"

"Get ready!" said Kozuka. "It's all over with this card!"

Oh no. Oh, _crap._

"The rare spell card, Call of the Haunted!" 

_What now…?_ thought Jounouchi. Something came out of the ground.

"Oh no!" said Jounouchi, eyes widening.

"Call of the Haunted brings all my monsters back as unkillable zombies!" said Kozuka. "And now that they're zombie cards, they gain the field power bonus from the graveyard!" Crass Clown, now Clown Zombie, had 1755 attack, Dragon Zombie, formerly Crawling Dragon, had 2080, and the monster formerly known as Zanki and currently known as Armored Zombie had 1950 attack points.

"Go, Dragon Zombie!" said Kozuka. "Kill Axe Raider! You can't kill the undead with your weapons! They're already dead! No matter what you do, they'll come back! Prepare to die! Deadly Zombie Breath! The Axe Raider is reduced to emulsified flesh in seconds!"

With that, Jounouchi's life points were now 1620. The look on her face was apprehensive. What could she possibly do?

"C'mon, c'mon!" said Kozuka. "It's your turn! Unless you're _scared!_ " She laughed.

"What do you mean, _scared?!_ " asked Jounouchi. "I'm a real duelist, and a real duelist doesn't run from dumb zombies!" She drew a card. "Here I come, you undead creeps! You're rotten to the core, literally and figuratively! Here's my card! Garoozis the Beast-Warrior! Get the clown!" Garoozis had 1800 attack points and 1500 defense points.

Kozuka chuckled.

The zombie clown had been torn apart, and quite easily at that. But…

"Didn't I tell you?" asked Kozuka. "This card is active as long as it's on the board! Rise from your grave!" The clown reassembled itself, a sickening sight. "And every time one of my undead is resurrected, its attack power goes up by ten percent…"

"What?!" said Jounouchi.

"Attack, clown! Knife toss! Acrobatics of Hell!" With its now-1890 attack points, it destroyed Garoozis, leaving Jounouchi at 1530 life points.

_Even if I beat them,_ thought Jounouchi, _they just come back stronger! Is this the power of the undead?! How can I fight these people? Does this mean there's no way for me to win?!_

"Now do you see?" asked Kozuka. "You can't win!" She laughed.

_If I lose these star chips, I'm out of the game…_ thought Jounouchi. _Am I going to lose? No, wait, snap out of it! I can't give up! And I can't lose!_ She drew a card. _I'll believe in myself and I'll win! If I don't, I'll never be able to face Yugi again! I'll stake my life on this card!_ She looked at the card. _The Time Wizard! Yes! I can do it! I can't fight these zombies with my Flame Swordsman… but I might be able to throw them into a time warp with the Time Wizard's magic!_ Out loud, she said, "Time Wizard! Time Roulette!" With that, the arrow on the roulette started spinning rapidly.

"Huh?" asked Kozuka.

The arrow slowed down a bit.

Kate felt sweat forming on her forehead. This had been unexpected.

The arrow slowed down faster.

_Don't let me down, Time Wizard!_

The arrow was very slow.

_It's about to stop!_

It seemed to land on "Win"… except…

"The skull?!" _What does this mean?!_ Jounouchi wondered. "Did I just lose?!"

A vortex appeared in the air above Jounouchi's monsters. "The magic fails," said Kate. "That means it self-destructs! The Time Wizard and Flame Swordsman are sucked away into the vortex of time!"

Half of Jounouchi's monsters' total attack points were subtracted from her life points. She now had 630 life points.

Kozuka laughed. "That's awesome!" she said. "She killed herself! And all my zombies are unharmed!"

Jounouchi looked at the cards in her hand, trying to figure out a way to win.

"All right…!" said Kozuka. "Time for you to lay another monster. Even if it's just a sacrifice to my zombies!"

_What now?_ thought Jounouchi as she drew another card. _What can I do?_ Out loud, she said, "I play Demon Hunter Kojikocy in defense mode!"

"Kill him, Dragon Zom – "

"Wait!" said Kate.

"Wha…?"

"It's in defense mode," said Kate. "Jounouchi won't get hurt when you beat it. Now's your chance to draw a new card and beef up our zombie army!"

"Hey, you! Ms. 'I know everything about Duel Monsters!' Who the heck are you, anyway?" asked Jounouchi.

"Who, me?" asked Kate. "I'm Bandit Kate! I don't expect people to know my in Japan, but in the US, I'm a top-ranked prize hunter!"

_Bandit Kate?!_ thought Jounouchi. _I've heard that name…! No way! Pegasus was the only one to ever beat her! If she's helping out these guys, then I never had a chance of winning!_

"Just give up!" said Kate. "It's your tough luck you had to play us! I'm teaching these guys the perfect strategies for their duels. You don't have a prayer."

"Yeah!" said the blond woman. "And after you lose, tell your pal Yugi…"

"That us four are going to Pegasus' castle!" finished the dark-haired woman, laughing.

_Grr…_ thought Jounouchi.

"Lemme tell you something," said Kate. "After I beat someone, they never play Duel Monsters – or any card game – ever again! Because I beat them so bad, the mere sight of a card brings back flashbacks that cripple their whole body!"

"Because you're either fighting a bunch of _cowards,_ or you're exaggerating!" said Jounouchi. "How can you take pride in fighting weaklings, you dirty coward?"

"Why you – !" Recomposing herself, Kate turned back to Kozuka. "Now!" she said. "Play the Ghost King!"

"I'm on it!" The card, Pumpking the King of Ghosts, had 1500 attack and 2000 defense. These stats were boosted to 1950 and 2600, respectively. "Pumpking, the King of Ghosts! Lord of the Undead! His body is nothing but a giant sac of ectoplasm, the fuel of evil spirits! Every turn, he feeds them energy, raising their attack points by ten percent! Now, Pumpking! Give them your power!" Now the Clown Zombie had 2050 attack points, the Dragon Zombie 2240, and the Armored Zombie 2100. "Attack, Dragon Zombie! Zombie Breath! Kojikocy is destroyed!"

"I play another card in defense mode!" said Jounouchi.

Kozuka laughed. "It's my turn again! And that means the zombies' attack goes up even more!" Now Dragon Zombie had 2400 attack points. It destroyed the facedown monster.

Jounouchi gulped.

"Wow, Kate," said Kozuka. "Your strategy was perfect! Turning my monsters into zombies with Call of the Haunted and using Pumpking to raise their power infinitely!"

"I play another monster in defense mode!" said Jounouchi.

"No, it's not perfect yet…" said Kate. "The combo won't be complete until you draw the Defense Paralysis card from the deck! _Then_ it'll all be over!"

_It's hopeless!_ thought Jounouchi. _There's no way I can win! Yugi…_

Meanwhile, outside, Yugi could feel something. It seemed almost as if Jounouchi was calling Yugi's name. _Jounouchi!_ she thought. _Where are you?_ The other Yugi took over. She closed her eyes, her hands on the Millennium Puzzle.

"No… she's not over here either!" said Honda.

"C'mon, Yugi!" said Ansei.

But the other Yugi was in deep concentration. She had a vision. A dark, underground tunnel. Long and winding, it lead to a room (if you could call it that?) with a Battle Box. In it was…

"Jounouchi!" she said. "This way!" said the other Yugi, running off to her right.

"Yugi?!"

_Don't give up, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi.

_There's always a way to win, no matter how bad it looks!_ thought Jounouchi. This time, oddly, it sounded like Yugi's voice rather than Jounouchi's.

The Dragon Zombie now had 2720 attack points.

Back outside…

"Yugi!" said Honda, running to catch up. "Do you know where Jounouchi is?"

"No… not exactly…" she said. "But a vision flashed in my mind… I saw Jounouchi underground!"

Eventually, the four came to a stop.

"You were right!" said Honda. "There's a cave!"

"This is it!" said the other Yugi. _Jounouchi, I'm coming!_

Meanwhile, in the Battle Box…

"I set another card in defense mode," said Jounouchi.

Kozuka chuckled. "It looks bad for you, doesn't it?" she asked. "Every turn you defend, my zombies get more and more attack points, and eventually you'll run out of cards! You lose! Give up!"

_I won't give up!_ thought Jounouchi. _I have one card that can stop all this… I just have to draw it… if I can stall long enough I can get the card…_

"My turn!" said Kozuka. She drew a card. She laughed. "Finally!" she said. "I drew Defense Paralysis! I set the card facedown!"

Jounouchi inhaled, then exhaled.

"And now for my attack! First, Pumpking gives the zombies more ectoplasm! Now my army is even stronger!" Indeed, the Clown, Dragon, and Armored Zombies now had 2565, 2880, and 2700 attack points respectively. Kozuka laughed. "Go, Dragon Zombie! Nothing can stop you!" With that, Jounouchi's monster was destroyed.

"It's over, Jounouchi!" said Kate. "The trap card is waiting for you! The game's over the moment you say 'defense!'"

Meanwhile, in the tunnels…

"Jounouchi! Where are you?" called Ansei.

"Dang, this cave's like a maze!" said Honda.

"The paths fork again!" said the other Yugi. We have to find her! she thought.

Honda called Jounouchi's name, to no use.

"It's a dead end over here!" said the other Yugi.

Ansei nearly tripped on a rock. Suddenly…

"Aah! Skulls!" he said.

"Wh-where are we?" asked Bakura.

"Crud!" said Honda. "There's no way Jounouchi's okay if she's dueling in a place like this! She's probably fighting some cannibal caveman!"

"Where could she be?" asked Bakura.

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei. "Can you hear me?"

_Don't give up, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _If you rid yourself of doubt, a light will shine into your heart!_

Meanwhile, back in the Battle Box...

"Now hurry up and draw to end your suffering!" said Kozuka. She chuckled. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

_Remember the promise we made! To save Grandma and your brother!_ Another thought that sounded more like Yugi than her. _I won't give up,_ thought Jounouchi. _Not as long as I can lift these cards!_ She drew a card. "I summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" she said.

Kate was alarmed. This kid had a freaking Red-Eyes?!

Jounouchi chuckled. "Now that I've come this far, I can't run away," she said. "If I can't use my cards to defend, I'll go out in a blaze of glory! Here goes! Go, Red-Eyes! Die, Great Pumpking! Black Fire Bullet! Pumpking explodes and burns!" Kozuka's life points were now 900. Call of the Haunted couldn't bring it back. It was undead to begin with. "Yes! Now your zombies can't get any tougher! The attack points express stops here!"

"Feh… you idiot… they're already more than strong enough to kill you! My turn! Dragon Zombie! Counterattack!" With that, Red-Eyes was gone, and Jounouchi's life points were at 150.

Kate laughed. "It's over, Jounouchi!"

_What do I do?_ thought Jounouchi. _I have three cards in my hand, and the only one I can play, Ultimator, has too little attack…! Even if I play all my cards on him, it won't be enough. And I can't play him in defense mode…_

"C'mon!" said Kate. "Like they say in the wild west – 'Draw!' Play a card and die, loser!"

Okay. That was the last straw. Jounouchi furrowed her brows in determination. Nobody called her a loser and got away with it! She drew a card. Sword and Shield. A card that switched the attack and defense points of all monsters on the field. _I'll have to try it!_ she thought. _This is my last gamble!_ Out loud, she said, "Here I go! I play this card in attack mode!" Ultimator had 700 attack points and 1000 defense points. "And for my big finale, I use this spell card and reverse every card's attack and defense!"

"What?!" said Kate.

Kozuka's eyes widened in horror. Now her zombies all had 0 attack…

"It's not just your monsters," said Jounouchi. "That spell card affects all the monsters on the board! And that means my monsters' attack and defense are switched, too!" Now Ultimator's attack points were 1000 and its defense points were 700. "Go back to the B-movies! Ultimate Screw Knuckle!" Kozuka's life points were now 0.

Meanwhile, nearby…

"Hey, look!" said Honda. "There's a duel box over there!"

The four made it to the duel box.

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei.

"Are you okay?" asked the other Yugi.

Jounouchi turned to face her friends. She laughed. "It's you guys!" she said. "Yugi! I won! It was luck again, but…"

"It doesn't matter," said the other Yugi. "You did it!"

With that, Jounouchi had eight star chips.


	44. Hazy Maze Cave!

"You guys should have seen it!" said Jounouchi. "My deadly combo!"

"Wow, eight star chips!" said Honda. She was genuinely impressed.

"It sounds like it went great!" said Ansei, grinning.

"This streak of good luck is something to think about, man," said Honda. "Do you ever worry that, since you came to the island, you've used up your good luck for your whole life?"

"What?" said Jounouchi. "That can't be!"

_Jounouchi's wins can't be put down to something small like "luck" or "miracles!"_ thought the other Yugi. _The desperation to win… the concern for her burden… the ability to adapt to new situations… that is the true strength of a duelist!_

"Shit," muttered Kate. "Let's go regroup…"

Jounouchi turned, and saw Kate and her group. "Wait! Bandit Kate!" said Jounouchi. Kate turned around.

_Bandit Kate?!_ thought the other Yugi. _The prize hunter who used to be famous in America?_

"Jounouchi, you got in a fight with those people?" asked Honda.

"No… it wasn't like I accepted their challenge… they _shanghaied_ me and dragged me down here! Like a pack of hyenas chasing their prey!" Turning towards Kate, she said, "Bandit Kate, if you call yourself a duelist, why don't you play fair next time?"

"Hell!" said Kate. "Don't tell me how to play, you damn kid! Did you say 'play fair?' Don't make me laugh! Card games are about outwitting your opponent! And that starts even _before_ the game! So don't talk about shit you know nothing about! Tell me you're faking it, Jounouchi! Why don't you stop pretending to be some noble hero? Then the prizes and glory will come your way! Like this!" She pulled her vest open to reveal the numerous decks in the pockets on the inside.

"Sh-she's got a ton of cards under her jacket!" said Jounouchi.

"That's right!" said Kate. "Dragon decks, warrior decks, machine decks… and they've all got _dozens_ of rare cards! I've got a deck to beat any poor schmuck who fights me!"

"Isn't there a rule that you can only bring forty cards to the island?" asked the other Yugi.

"Yeah!" said Ansei. "You were allowed to trade cards on the boat, but when we got to the island, they checked everyone's decks and confiscated any extra cards!"

"Jesus!" snapped Kate. "Let me break it to you – I'm not officially in this tournament. And that means the rules don't apply to me!"

_What a jerk,_ thought Jounouchi.

"I only have one rule," said Kate. "I'll do whatever it takes to get to Pegasus' castle!" She walked off, laughing.

"Bandit Kate!" said the other Yugi. "The duelists' pride is the rule on this island! Remember that…"

"Don't make me laugh, you baby goth," said Kate.

"Man, that creep!" said Jounouchi. "I'm going to beat you!" _That's what I wanna say… but she's too strong! I've got to get stronger!_

"C'mon, let's get out of this cave," said Yugi, who had taken over.

"Yeah," said Ansei.

"I hate dark places…" said Jounouchi. With that, the five walked through the tunnels, retracing their original path.

"Hey, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "You've got six chips… I've got eight… maybe if we win our next duels we'll both have ten!"

"Yeah!" said Yugi. "Let's finish it with our next duels!"

"You got it!" said Jounouchi.

"Oh," said Bakura. "I think the exit's this way."

"Yeah," said Jounouchi. "We take a right turn here, I think." Suddenly, she spotted it. "There it is! That's the way out! Yee haw! Sunlight! At long last!"

"Huh…" said Yugi.

Suddenly, a rock was rolling in front of the entrance.

"What the…?!"

The light from the outside soon become nothing but a sliver.

"What…?! The exit's being blocked!"

Outside the cave, Kate's group were pushing a boulder to block the cave entrance. Kate herself laughed.

"This exit is the only way out of the caves! They might just be stuck down there forever!" She laughed again. She stopped her group when the boulder was almost completely covering the hole to stick her head in. "Yo, losers!" she said.

"Bandit Kate!" said Jounouchi. "What the…?! What are you doing?!"

"If the law of the land is to win with duels," said Bandit Kate, "then _my_ law is to win like this! Now that I'm this close to getting to the castle, you guys are just in my way… so you can stay here in this grave! Game over, man! Game over! I'm sure somebody will find you eventually… of course, it might take a few years!" She laughed.

_That scumbag!_ thought Jounouchi. Out loud, she said, "Bandit Kate! I'm going to beat you!"

"Scream all you like," said Kate. She chuckled. "Later, _champ!_ " With that, she backed up from the boulder, and it fully covered the entrance.

_You good-for-nothing jerk!_ thought Jounouchi. _I'm gonna get you if I have to dig my way out of here! Just you wait!_

Outside the cave…

"Do you think that was too much…?" asked Kozuka.

Kate laughed. "Now… the next order of business," she murmured under her breath. She kicked Kozuka in the gut. "You little shit!" she said. "Thanks for losing to that newbie!"

"B-but…" said Kozuka. "I just… played the cards how you told me…"

"Then why'd you lose?! Moron!" She kicked Kozuka in the jaw.

The other two could only stare in shock.

"Urgh…" murmured Kozuka.

"You lost your star chips," said Kate. "Now you aren't good for anything! Die!"

"K-Kate…" said Kozuka.

"Hey, you two!" said Kate. "How many star chips do you have?"

"Um…" said the dark-haired woman. "I have five…"

"I have five too…" said the blond woman.

"I see," said Kate. "So there's enough for one person? I'll take those star chips form you!"

"What the…?!"

"Listen up, you little nerds!" said Kate. "Do you know the only reason you got this far? Isn't it because of me?!"

The two were silent.

"All right…" said Kate. "Now give me the glove and the chips!" Once one of them gave her a duel glove and they both handed her their star chips, Kate put the glove on, thinking, _Now then… these guys have just about outlived their usefulness… right on schedule… heh heh heh… I collected ten star chips without soiling my hands in a stupid duel! I'm coming for you, Pegasus! I haven't forgotten about how you humiliated me at the tournament with that kid in the crowd!_ Out loud, she laughed. "I'm the first one to the castle!"

Meanwhile, in the cave…

The five were struggling in vain to push the boulder out of the way.

"Crap!" said Jounouchi. "It won't budge!"

"I guess we'll have to find another way out," said Honda..

"The left passage leads to the duel box," said Bakura, "but after that it dead-ends… if we were on the surface, the right passage would go in the direction of the castle…"

"You've got a good sense of – oh, you used the Millennium Ring?" asked Ansei.

"Agh!" said Jounouchi. "Why'd you bring that on the island?!"

Bakura ignored her, focusing on the direction the ring was pointing in. "Let's take the right passage for now…" she said. "We probably won't get lost as long as the Millennium Ring keeps working."

"Good thing Maiku gave us a lantern, or we'd have to walk in the dark!" said Ansei.

The five walked down the passageway in silence.

"We've gone pretty far…" said Honda. "I haven't seen a way out…"

"Yeah," said Jounouchi, "and this tunnel's getting narrower and narrower… the walls were all bumpy earlier… now it's smoothed out, like a stone wall…"

"Hey," said Ansei. "We're in a maze!"

The five navigated the maze, sticking with the left wall, under Bakura's instruction. Eventually, they made their way to a room.

"What the…?!" said Jounouchi. "What is this place?!" It was a large room. In the center was a table with four chairs. On the wall to their right was the Japanese character for "Mei," and on the wall to their left was the Japanese character for "Kyu." Meikyu. Labyrinth. That explained the maze setup. "What is this, a movie starring David Bowie?" asked Jounouchi. "What's next, a kidnapped little sibling being rescued by their selfish older sister?"

"Someone's here!" said Yugi.

Indeed, a pair of stocky bald women in robes hopped into the room, doing some rather acrobatic flips towards the center of the room close to the group after landing. They finished their routine with a high jump towards the ceiling, then landing on their feet, back-to-back, arms crossed. One of them had the character for "Mei" on her forehead, while the other, who looked almost identical save for having a green robe rather than her sister's orange robe, had the character for "Kyu" on her forehead.

"We are the guards of the dungeon!" said Kyu.

"The Meikyu Sisters!" said Mei.

"Hmm, what have we here, sister?" asked Kyu. "Five travelers, lost in the maze?"

"Who knows, sister?" said Mei. "It wouldn't be a maze if people didn't get lost!"

Suddenly, Yugi noticed something. _They have duel gloves on their wrists!_ she thought. _Are they player killers?_

"Have you come to ask us, lost travelers?" asked Kyu. "To find the right path…"

"The right door…" said Mei…

"To find the answer," said both, "you must face us in a duel!"

_Of course!_ thought Yugi. _A duel table! And just like in the real room, there's two doors!_

"Now," said Kyu, "will two duelists please step forward!"

"This duel will be an unorthodox two-on-two fight!" said Mei.

"Two on two?!" asked Yugi. "A Duel Monsters tag team match?"

"Beat us and you'll learn the right way," said Kyu.

"But run away and you will be lost in the path of darkness forever!" said Mei.

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi, who had taken over. "Sounds like we have no choice!"

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "Bring it on!"

The four sat down at the table, the Meikyu sisters on the further end and the other Yugi and Jounouchi on the closer end.

_So this is the labyrinth field…_ thought the other Yugi. _But where's the labyrinth? In the back are two doors, "Mei" and "Kyu"… so the Meikyu Sisters each guard one door… one of them must lead to the surface! And that means the only way to open the gates is to beat them!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me why I genderflipped the Meikyu brothers but not the Player Killer of Darkness. I guess I just have some [Early Installment Weirdness](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EarlyInstallmentWeirdness) going on. My original intent was to genderflip everyone who wasn't a background character. Then I decided there were some characters for whom it wasn't worth the effort to find genderflipped names for, and left those alone. Eventually I settled on one-shot and background characters with no impact on the plot not being genderflipped. Because I wrote the Panik duel later than this due to not realizing part of the aftermath would be important later on, I ended up not genderflipping Panik.
> 
> Also, I find it amusing that Mei's name fits better _after_ the genderflip than before.
> 
> I also moved Jounouchi's reaction to the Millennium Ring to later due to some changing of events so that Jounouchi and Bakura ended up waking up at night only once, namely when Kaiba's helicopter arrived.


	45. Labyrinth Loophole

With that, the duel began, all four duelists having 2000 life points, after they shuffled their decks.

"I go first!" said Kyu. "I play this card! Labyrinth Wall!" Labyrinth Wall had 0 attack points and 3000 defense points. Walls rose out from the field.

_Now this is truly an unorthodox duel!_ thought the other Yugi. Indeed, there were now far more places for cards, more reminiscent of a turn-based strategy board game than Duel Monsters. It reminded her of Capsule Monsters, to an extent, if Capmon used Duel Monsters.

"Now that my first turn is over," said Kyu, "let me explain the new rules! All four players have 2000 life points. But your life is tied to your partner's! If one partner loses all their life points, both partners lose!"

Jounouchi furrowed her brows.

"We alternate turns, one player on each team," continued Kyu. "And now, about this labyrinth field…"

"We shall explain how to play!" said Mei. "To make it simple, think of your monsters as chess pieces. If the card is in attack mode, it can advance as many spaces per turn as the number of stars on the card."

_I see,_ thought the other Yugi. _If you win a battle, your "pieces" can advance into the dungeon…_

"If you can survive the dungeon and beat us gate keepers," said Kyu, "you can open _one_ of the doors!"

"But which one will you choose?" asked Mei. "Mei, the door of deception, or Kyu, the door of the palace?"

_So only one of the doors leads to the surface…?_ wondered Jounouchi. _Which door do we head for…?!_

"Of course," said Kyu, "we will _each_ do our best to guard our door!"

"We are the gatekeepers of the dungeon, after all!" said Mei.

"Hey, hey!" said Jounouchi. "You're playing with our lives here! So even if we win, there's only a 50-50 chance we survive? That's _stupid!_ At least give us a clue on which one's the right door!"

"Very well," said Mei and Kyu simultaneously.

"From now on," said Kyu, "one of us will always tell the truth…"

"…and one of us will always lie!" said Mei.

The other Yugi was suspicious of this. "That better be the truth," she said.

"Of course it is!" said Kyu. "Now that we've established that, let me give you some friendly advice… my door is the correct door!"

"No, no, no," said Mei. "My door is the correct door!" They both chuckled.

The other Yugi was silent. Their chuckles suggested something was up…

_Which one's telling the truth…?_ wondered Jounouchi. _…Wait a second! I've heard a riddle like this before! I think it went like this… "A man stood at the crossroads between an honest town and a dishonest town. A villager came to the crossroads but the man didn't know which town he was from… the man wanted to go to the honest town, but he could only ask one question… what did he ask?" The answer? "Take me to your town!" If he's honest, he'll take you back to his own town! But if he's a liar, he'll take you to the other town… the honest town!_ Out loud, she said, "Hey, you two! You gotta answer our questions!"

The Meikyu sisters nodded. "Very well," said Kyu.

"We will each answer one question from each of you," said Mei.

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "Point to your door!" _Now they'll both point to the same door! And we'll know who the liar is!_

They both pointed to the Kyu door.

Jounouchi laughed. "Did you see that, Yugi? Kyu is the right door! Mei is the liar! It's easy now that we know which door to head to!"

Mei and Kyu smirked.

_…Is it really?_ wondered the other Yugi. They seemed a little _too_ confident...

"What's wrong, Yugi?" asked Jounouchi. "I got it right… right?"

"Depending on how you look at it, your question is logically correct," said the other Yugi. "But! Should we take their words at face value?" She chuckled. "I'm a cautious person…"

"What do you mean?" asked Jounouchi. "If one's honest and the other's a liar, they should've answered the question."

"No," said the other Yugi. "I'm saying it's dangerous to compare our current situation to a simplistic riddle! First of all, in the riddle, there's only one villager, but we face two people! Our two people told us, 'One of us always tells the truth and the other always lies.' But that in itself is suspicious! If one of them is a liar, _both_ of them should claim to be honest. There's always the possibility that they're both liars! In other words, it's not certain that there's even an exit here! But in any case let's play…" _I will find the correct door,_ she thought. Thankfully, Yugi had a couple of yen in her pocket...

With that, the duel resumed.

"Now it's my turn," said the other Yugi. "I play the Beaver Warrior in attack mode! I move it four spaces. My turn's over." Beaver Warrior had 1200 attack and 1500 defense. She then noted, "There's quite a distance between us. Seems like the battles will be concentrated in the second half of the game."

"You're wrong," said Mei. "I fuse the Labyrinth on the field with the Shadow Ghoul in my hand!" Shadow Ghoul had 1600 attack and 1300 defense.

"It can't be…!" said the other Yugi. There was a shadow on the walls of the labyrinth. It rapidly rushed across the walls. It closed in on Beaver Warrior. A claw came out of the wall while Beaver Warrior was looking away, followed by the rest of the Shadow Ghoul.

"Attack, Shadow Ghoul!" said Mei. "The Beaver Warrior dies!" Now the other Yugi had 1600 life points. The Shadow Ghoul retreated back inside the wall.

_This is bad!_ thought the other Yugi.

"Now do you see?" asked Mei. "The Wall Shadow can instantly intercept any intruders that enter the labyrinth! Nothing survives its deadly blades! Both of you are as good as captured by the labyrinth… you'll never get out of here alive!"

"My turn!" said Jounouchi. "Okay, I'm playing Axe Raider in attack mode, and set a card face down on the board! But I can't fight what I can't see, so I'm not moving this turn!"

_Good idea, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _We can avoid the shadow's attacks if we stay away from the walls!_

_Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi. _I hope you get my strategy!_

"I hope Jounouchi doesn't do anything stupid," said Ansei.

"Don't worry!" said Bakura. "Yugi will back her up!"

"I hope so too," said Honda. "Since it's a tag-team match, there's a chance their opponents will concentrate on Jounouchi to take her down…"

"It's my turn!" said Kyu. "First, I'll set a card facedown. And now, I play Labyrinth Tank!" Labyrinth Tank had 2400 attack and defense points.

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. Celtic Guardian. 1400 attack, 1200 defense. She looked towards Jounouchi, who looked back at her. Jounouchi gave a look of silent approval. "I play the Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" she said. "I advance into the labyrinth!"

"The Wall Shadow strikes!" said Kyu. "Target: Celtic Guardian!" She laughed. "You can't escape! The Wall Shadow will kill you in one blow! The elf is dead!" Indeed, the Shadow Ghoul attempted to attack the Celtic Guardian.

The other Yugi chuckled. "Got you."

"Huh?" said Kyu.

"Chain Boomerang!" said Jounouchi, flipping her card faceup. She chuckled. "Check this out!" The card was Kunai with Chain. This card activated when a monster was attacked. The defending monster gained 500 attack. "I saved this card to help Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

"Attack, Celtic Guardian!" said the other Yugi. The Celtic Guardian took down the Shadow Ghoul, with a boosted 1900 attack points. Mei now had 1700 life points. She growled.

"Let's go, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "We're in this together!"

_What do you know, Jounouchi?_ thought Honda, smiling. _You're actually getting pretty good!_

"My turn!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. "I play the Flame Swordsman! I then move Axe Raider closer to the Celtic Guardian!" Kunai with Chain was now equipped to Axe Raider. "I'm done!" she said.

"My turn!" said Kyu. "Labyrinth Tank, move!"

"It's my turn again!" said the other Yugi. She figured the Meikyu sisters had set traps along the path. But how to circumvent them…?

"Dangit!" said Jounouchi. "If only we could jump over those walls, we could get to the doors!"

"We can't do that, Jounouchi," said the other Yugi. "Flying monsters can't go through the tunnels. The setting is a dungeon with a ceiling. There's no room to fly!"

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon is a flying monster…" said Jounouchi.

"That's right," said the other Yugi. "Only ground monsters can navigate the tunnels. For now, we just have to go forward one step at a time!" She did, however, have a plan. There was another way. After all, they only couldn't fit in the _tunnels…_ "I play the Dark Magician in attack mode!" she said. "Advance!" Dark Magician caught up with the other monsters, standing in the front.

Mei drew a card. "I play this card!" she said. Magical Labyrinth. The card caused the labyrinth to change shape around the monsters. Now the group was split up: Dark Magician and Celtic Guardian on one side, Flame Swordsman and Axe Raider on the other. The other Yugi and Jounouchi looked in horror at the situation. They couldn't help each other.

"Okay, I'm gonna go!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. She'd have to take a big detour to get to Yugi. _Guess I've gotta leave her alone and get through the labyrinth myself,_ she thought. With that, she moved her monsters through the maze.

Kyu chuckled. "I activate a trap card!" she said. "The Trapdoor Spider attacks Axe Raider!" Jirai Gumo, the spider in question, had 2100 attack points and 100 defense points. Seeing as how Axe Raider had 1700 attack points, that put an end to him, leaving Jounouchi with 1600 life points.

"Hang in there, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi.

"My turn!" said Kyu. She moved the Labyrinth Tank closer to the Flame Swordsman.

_Flame Swordsman's not strong enough to beat either of these monsters…_ thought Jounouchi. Out loud, she said, "It… it looks like he's dead…" Yugi's Dark Magician couldn't interfere. There was no getting Flame Swordsman out of the way… things couldn't go right, could they…?

Things did, in fact, go right.

"It's my turn, isn't it?" said the other Yugi. She drew a card, and chuckled. "And now, for my next card," she said. "Mystic Box! The magic boxes of death! In combination with Dark Magician!"

Kyu looked shocked.

A tall, narrow box with three short doors, surrounded by blades, formed near the Dark Magician, who stepped into it. The doors closed with a click when she did. The swords floated into the air, pointed towards the multitude of slots in the sides of the box, and flew in, as if to stab the Dark Magician.

"Did she just kill herself?!" asked Kyu.

"No, look!" said Mei.

A second box had formed where Jirai Gumo had once been. The doors of the first box opened revealing… the Trapdoor Spider? The other box opened to reveal the Dark Magician, completely unharmed.

"Get it now?" asked the other Yugi. "The Magician teleported using the Mystic Box! It switched places with your spider, using it as a sacrifice! And now it gets to attack your monsters!"

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi, grinning.

"Dark Magician, cast your spell! Black Magic! The tank is destroyed!" Between the death of the Spider and the destruction of the Labyrinth Tank, Kyu now had 1600 life points.

"Sorry to wreck your plan," said the other Yugi, smirking.

"Thanks, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "You saved me!"

"Come on, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "Let's get out of this maze!"

"My turn!" said Mei. She grinned when she saw her card. "First I'll play Sanga on the board!" Sanga of the Thunder had 2600 attack points and 2200 defense points. When she played the card, a box appeared on the board.

_The box is marked with the "Rai" character, the symbol for "thunder"…_ thought the other Yugi. _Something is sealed inside… I have a bad feeling about this…_

"Okay! It's my turn!" said Jounouchi. "Flame Swordsman charges forward! That's my turn!" Now at this point, the Flame Swordsman was ahead of the Dark Magician.

"My turn again!" said Kyu. She drew a card. "The Demon God of Water! Suijin! It too goes down on the board!" Suijin had 2500 attack points and 2400 defense points.

_Another strange box,_ thought the other Yugi.

"I play this in attack mode! The Dungeon Worm!" said Kyu. The Dungeon Worm had 1800 attack and 1500 defense.

A giant, worm-like monstrosity, with countless teeth and eyes surrounding its maw, emerged from underground, destroying the Celtic Guardian, leaving the other Yugi with 1200 life points. The Worm went back underground. Kyu laughed. "No matter where you run, you're worm food!" she said. "And each time it devours an enemy, the worm's attack points go up by ten percent!"

_Just like with Kajiki!_ thought the other Yugi. _We can't attack when it's underground!_

"Crud!" said Jounouchi. "What should we do, Yugi?"

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. _I'll use this card,_ she thought. "Magical Hats!"

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "Now that worm won't know where to attack!"

"The Magician and the Swordsman are hidden somewhere under those top hats," said the other Yugi. "Even with its powerup from eating Celtic guardian, Dungeon Worm only has 1980 attack points. If it chooses the hat with the Dark Magician, Dungeon Worm is dead!"

Mei chuckled. "Very well," she said. "Then I play this card! The Monster Tamer of Hell!"

The other Yugi let out a "Tch!" _With the Tamer's guidance, the Dungeon Worm is actually stronger than the Dark Magician!_ thought the other Yugi. _If the Dark Magician gets hit, she's dead! There's a 50-50 chance…! ___

__Finally, the Dungeon Worm emerged from one of the hats._ _

__"Yes!" said Jounouchi. "It missed!"_ _

___We made it this time,_ thought the other Yugi, _but next turn the worm will attack again… even if both our cards stay under the hats, it's only a matter of time until they're destroyed…! What can I do?__ _

__"It's my turn!" said Jounouchi. She chuckled. "Y'know," she said, "I just hate being stuck in small dark places…" With that, the Flame Swordsman leapt out from one of the hats._ _

__Mei and the other Yugi were shocked. _Jounouchi, what are you doing?!_ thought the other Yugi._ _

__The others were shocked too. "What's she thinking?!" asked Honda._ _

__"Look at this!" said Jounouchi. "See the power of this card! Salamandra, the Fire Snake!" Salamandra was not a monster card, but a spell card. A fire monster equipped with it would have its attack points boosted by 700. "Salamandra goes inside the sword and increases its power!" Indeed, the Flame Swordsman's attack points were now 2500. "Here I go!" said Jounouchi. "Do it, Salamandra!" Salamandra entered the tunnel made by the Dungeon Worm. With that, Dungeon Worm was destroyed. "Take that! The Worm burns!" Kyu now had 1080 life points. "Yes!" said Jounouchi._ _

__"Not bad, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi, smiling._ _

__Kyu drew a card. "I play this! Kazejin!" Kazejin had 2400 attack points and 2200 defense points. Kyu laughed. "Thunder, wind, and water are united! Rise, Gate Guardian! Demon god of the three elements!"_ _

__"What in the world?!" asked the other Yugi. "What is that?" Gate Guardian was a huge monstrosity, composed of the three monsters that had been summoned in defense mode, each having their own separate attack points._ _

__"Gate Guardian!" said Jounouchi. "I shoulda known dungeons always have boss characters!" She had played enough of The Legend of Zelda to know that._ _

__"Let's get it!" said the other Yugi._ _

__"It is your fate to die at the very threshold and be buried by the fusion demon god!" said Kyu._ _

__"Listen up, cue balls!" said Jounouchi. "If you guys are gonna use card combos, we'll show you what a teamwork combo can do!"_ _

__"Then let's see you beat the Guardian with your so-called 'teamwork' and pry open the doors!" said Kyu. "Yugi, it's your move!"_ _

__The other Yugi drew a card. _We have two monsters inside the top hats,_ she thought. _Unless they move closer to the Gate Guardian, neither will be able to attack… it's too risky to just charge out…_ "I play two cards facedown!" she said. "I end my turn!"_ _

__"My turn!" said Mei. "Gate Guardian, use your power! Sanga of the Thunder! Attack the Flame Swordsman!"_ _

___It can strike anywhere in the labyrinth!_ thought the other Yugi. _There's nowhere to hide!__ _

__"Thunder Shot!" said Mei._ _

__"Oh no!" said Jounouchi. _I'm dead!_ she thought._ _

__"Yes!" said Mei. "One down!"_ _

__The other Yugi chuckled. "We'll see about that. I play the card Mirror Force! It protects the Flame Swordsman! The holy barrier deflects the electricity onto the monster who dealt it!"_ _

__"Yugi!" exclaimed Jounouchi, grinning._ _

__"Kazejin!" said Kyu. "Reflection! Storm Barricade! Reflection activates automatically when an enemy attacks! Nothing hurts the Gate Guardian!"_ _

__The other Yugi chuckled. "Too bad your other monster isn't safe!" Indeed, the Monster Tamer was now destroyed, leaving Mei with 900 life points._ _

__Jounouchi let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Yugi!" she said. "You saved me!"_ _

___As far as I can tell from all this,_ thought the other Yugi, _Gate Guardian is really just three separate monsters stacked on top of one another… if we crush one monster at a time, we can beat it!__ _

__"Okay!" said Jounouchi. "It's payback time! C'mon, Flame Swordsman! Attack Kazejin with the flame of Salamandra!" But something odd happened._ _

__"Reflection! Wall of Water!" said Kyu. Gate Guardian had created a defensive wall to keep the flames away. "Now it's my turn! Pay the price for your insolence!" Flame Swordsman, being a fire monster, took a 300-attack-point penalty. Jounouchi now had 1300 life points._ _

__"Aww, crap!" said Jounouchi. "Losing Flame Swordsman right when we were about to get to the doors! Do we have to walk around the labyrinth again…?"_ _

__"No," said the other Yugi. "Your Swordsman's death wasn't a waste, Jounouchi! Now it's my turn! I'll use this card to follow in the Flame Swordsman's footsteps! Come forth, Summoned Skull!" Summoned Skull had 2500 attack points and 1200 defense points._ _

__"The Skull Demon…!" said Kyu, shocked. Regaining her composure, she said, "But it's back at the beginning of the maze! Its attack won't reach the Gate Guardian!"_ _

__The other Yugi chuckled. "We'll see about that!" she said. "I thought I told you that I'm following in his footsteps… the footsteps of his path through the maze!" Indeed, Suijin's attack had left the whole dungeon flooded. "Demon Lightning!" she said. Electricity raced through the water, eventually making its way to Suijin._ _

__"Oh yeah, we did it!" said Jounouchi._ _

__"Forget it!" said Kyu. "I'll blow away the water with Kazejin's wind powers!" Except… Kazejin wasn't doing anything?_ _

__The other Yugi chuckled. "Surprised? Here's a clue. Remember when your wave passed over the top hats?"_ _

__"What?!" said Kyu. What could this possibly have to do with – ?!_ _

__"When you did that," explained the other Yugi, "you set off this trap card! Spellbinding Circle!" With that, a hexagram surrounded Suijin, causing its death from Summoned Skull's attack. This left Kyu with 780 life points._ _

__"All right!" said Jounouchi. "We'll smack 'im from the bottom up!"_ _

__"My turn again!" said Mei. "I activate the spell card, Remove Trap!" The card did exactly what you would expect to Spellbinding Circle. "The Gate Guardian is back!" she said._ _

__"Okay, here goes!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. It was just the card she would need for her strategy. She looked towards the other Yugi, who gave her a look of approval. Turning back to focus on the duel, she said, "Here's my card! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" It had 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points._ _

__"And that's not all!" said the other Yugi. "I activate my face-down spell card, Polymerization! This is our combo! I fuse Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, to form the Black Skull Dragon!" It resembled Red-Eyes Black Dragon, only with an exoskeleton shaped like armor and made from bone. It had 3200 attack points._ _

__"This is our team's ultimate monster!" said Jounouchi._ _

__"Here comes the final battle!" said the other Yugi._ _

__"Better look for a new dungeon 'cause we're busting this one wide open!" said Jounouchi. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?_ _

__Actually, things did not go as wrong as expected._ _

__Kyu laughed. "Fools!" she said. "Have you forgotten? This labyrinth can only be crossed by ground units! You can fuse all the monsters you want, but once a dragon, always a dragon! It still has wings, so it can't fit into the corridors! It can't get into range of the Gate Guardian! But the Guardian can attack the entire maze!"_ _

___Crap! They're right!_ thought Jounouchi. "But hold on…" she said. "You knew about that too, Yugi… but you played Polymerization like you had a plan…"_ _

__"Don't worry!" said the other Yugi. "This was all part of the plan!"_ _

___God, I hope so,_ thought Jounouchi. Out loud, she said, "All right! I'm done!"_ _

__"My turn!" said Kyu. She drew a card. "I activate a spell card! Ryoku!" This card took half of the opponent's life points and added them to the attack points of one of the user's monsters, at the expense of the user's ability to attack that turn. This left the other Yugi and Jounouchi with 600 and 650 life points respectively. Now Sanga and Kazejin had 3250 and 3000 attack points._ _

__Jounouchi growled in frustration._ _

__"My turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. Shift. Excellent. "Dark Magician proceeds towards the exit from the labyrinth!" The Dark Magician solemnly walked towards the room, as though to her own execution, stopping one square away from it. "I set a card! Listen well!" said the other Yugi. "We'll keep going no matter what obstacles await us! As long as there's a shred of a chance! And before my turn ends, I'm playing one more card! Monster Reborn! I'm going to raise one of _your_ monsters and make it defend me!"_ _

__"Now it's my turn!" said Mei. "Gate Guardian! Attack the Dark Magician! Double attack! Demon Wind and Thunder!" Gate Guardian had more than enough attack points to completely destroy Dark Magician._ _

__"Attacking is useless!" said the other Yugi. "Suijin, use Reflection!"_ _

__"Yes!" said Jounouchi. "Smooth move, Yugi!" As long as they had control of Suijin, Mei and Kyu couldn't do anything._ _

__"All right!" said the other Yugi. "It's your turn, Jounouchi!"_ _

__"Yeah!" she said. She drew a card. Copycat. She chuckled. She had an idea. "I'm gonna copy your card Ryoku!" Mei and Kyu now had 450 and 390 life points respectively, and Black Skull Dragon now had 4040 attack points._ _

__"Good job, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi._ _

__"You stupid morons! How many times do I have to tell you?!" asked Kyu. "The Black Skull Dragon cannot cross the labyrinth! My turn! Kazejin destroys Suijin! Now what, Yugi? You have no way of blocking our attacks! On the next turn, we win!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?_ _

__Things did, in fact, go wrong._ _

__"Now's the time when _I_ laugh," said the other Yugi._ _

__"Huh…?!"_ _

__"Haven't you figured it out?" asked the other Yugi. "Don't you know the _real_ reason I took the Dark Magician through the maze? The spell card Shift! This card switches my monsters, letting me put the strongest ones up in front! Here I go! Shift!"_ _

__With that, the Dark Magician disappeared in a burst of light, replaced with the Black Skull Dragon. "Meteor Flare!" said the other Yugi. With that, Kazejin was destroyed, leaving the Meikyu sisters with 0 life points._ _

__"We win!" said the other Yugi._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! There are, in fact, [a](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_Monster_Capsule_GB) [couple of](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_Monster_Capsule:_Breed_and_Battle) Capsule Monsters-based video games, and [a more board-game style](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_The_Duelists_of_the_Roses) Duel Monsters video game.
> 
> Also, I am deliberately giving Dark Magician some human-like mannerisms. I'll be doing the same to Dark Magician Boy and _possibly_ Blue-Eyes White Dragon, if I can make the latter work. I think you know why...


	46. Riddle Me This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and Jounouchi have won the duel, but can they solve the riddle and escape the labyrinth?

"Yes! They did it!" exclaimed Ansei.

"Teamwork comes through!" exclaimed Honda.

Now that the other Yugi and Jounouchi had ten star chips, they could go to Pegasus' castle. But first…

"The game isn't over yet," said Mei.

"You have our respect for defeating us in our own labyrinth," admitted Kyu, "but you haven't _forgotten,_ have you? You haven't really won until you actually get out of the maze!"

Jounouchi stood up straight, eyes wide, blood draining from her face. Crap. This wasn't good…

The other Yugi, conversely, chuckled. "We haven't forgotten," she said. "Isn't this what you said…? There are two doors, Mei and Kyu. Only one leads to the surface… and we only get to open one door."

"Now you must choose your fate," said Kyu. "On your right, the Kyu door."

"On your left," said Mei, "the Mei door. Which will it be?"

_Hmm…_ thought the other Yugi. _Is it possible to figure it out from everything they've said so far…? What did Jounouchi ask them…? "Point to your door!" And in response, they both pointed to the Kyu door… at that moment, it seemed like Mei was the liar… but Mei didn't speak a word… so technically, she didn't_ say _a lie… it could be a trick to confuse us… retracing what they've said is like a labyrinth of words without an exit… their words are just tools to deceive…!_ She noticed something. Mei and Kyu were smirking. _They seem_ certain _that we'll choose the wrong door,_ she thought. _But really, it should be a 50-50 chance… how can they be so confident? Think again… there's only four possible answers… one, Mei is the correct door. Two, Kyu is the correct door. Three, both doors are correct. Four, both doors are wrong and it's either a trap or there's a third, hidden door… most likely one of the latter two, in which case they're confident because it doesn't matter which we choose…_

Kyu chuckled.

"It seems you're suspicious that there's more than two doors in this hall," said Mei. "Very well… you have five minutes to search every inch of this hall…"

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "Let's search this place from top to bottom!"

"Yeah!" said Honda.

"I'll start here," said Bakura, walking towards the portion of the wall with the "Mei" character. But the other Yugi was completely still.

"Aren't you going to look?" asked Kyu.

"I'm fine where I am," said the other Yugi. "It's easiest to judge the correct door from this spot…"

Kyu chuckled. The other Yugi found this suspicious. She stood there to gauge their reactions. If they started acting less confidently, there was a chance that the room had a secret door. If their reactions remained confident, then either the room was a trap or both doors were correct and the dilemma was designed to waste their time.

"I guess the door we came in doesn't count," said Jounouchi.

As Ansei and Honda searched other walls, Bakura examined the "Mei" character on the wall. She turned her head to the left when she heard a voice. _I'll tell you which door it is…_ said the voice. Turning towards Ansei, she asked if he said something, but Ansei didn't seem to hear her. _H-heh heh…_ said the voice. _It's me…_ Oh no. It couldn't be… that voice! The other Bakura chuckled. _It's been a long time… how long are you going to waste your time here? Playing these stupid card games when a new Millennium Item is just a stone's throw away… didn't you know I was guiding you toward it this whole time? Put the Ring on! Put it on and I'll tell you where the door is! It'll be easy for a thief like me!_ Bakura took the Millennium Ring out of her back and held it parallel to the ground. The central needle pointed towards the wall with the two doors.

"What's wrong, Bakura?" asked Ansei. Bakura's body language was concerning. Beforehand, her back had been straight. Now, she was hunched over like she had something to hide.

"Oh… um… n-nothing's wrong," said Bakura.

_I see,_ said the other Bakura. _You're afraid of me because of what happened before? Relax! I'm a new person now! I'm just trying to help you save your friends!_

Bakura seized her head, sweat forming on her forehead. "Stop it!" she said, though disturbingly, she was unable to tell if she had said it out loud or if she merely thought it. And the whole "I was guiding you toward a Millennium Item this whole time" idea? Now she doubted whether her interest in the Millennium Items was out of her own volition or if it had been the spirit of the Millennium Ring influencing her behavior to its own ends. _I won't listen to you anymore!_ she told the spirit.

_Oh, you won't, eh?_ asked the spirit, tauntingly. _Listen to this… if you don't put the Ring on right now, your friends will be trapped here forever!_

"Five minutes are up!" announced Mei and Kyu. Well, it didn't seem like Bakura had much of a choice. She reluctantly slipped the Millennium Ring on, hiding it under her shirt so as not to disturb her friends with its presence.

The five gathered back at the table.

"Yugi…" said Jounouchi. "We looked everywhere, but we couldn't find another exit."

"No…" said Bakura. She seemed quieter, more solemn. Even her eyes didn't seem to have the same shine as before. The effect was unsettling.

_There's one way for them to stop us from choosing the correct door,_ thought the other Yugi. _This is a final gamble…_

"Now, Yugi!" said Mei and Kyu. "Choose a door!"

"Will it be Mei?"

"Or Kyu?"

The other Yugi took a couple of yen from her pocket. While the others were busy, she had written the symbols for Mei and Kyu on the respective coins.

Kyu laughed. "You're going to decide with a coin toss?!" she asked.

"Be quiet and watch," said the other Yugi. "I have coins in my left and right hands. Now, I put them on the table. Now, the coin I leave in my hand will show which door I'm choosing! Are you ready?"

"Hmm…" said Kyu. "Very well!"

"Now, move your hand!" said Mei.

Everyone in the room was silent. Bakura in particular was intently focused on the other Yugi.

"Here I go," said the other Yugi. She lifted her hand off of the left coin, revealing the "Kyu" character.

"Ah, so the coin in your _other_ hand is Mei," said Kyu. You chose the Mei door."

"You chose Mei?!" asked Bakura, whose voice seemed hoarser than usual, as though unused to her own vocal chords. "You're wrong, Yugi! The Kyu door's the right one!"

"B-Ba-Bakura…?!" Now Ansei was very concerned. Bakura's voice didn't usually sound this coarse, and she usually wasn't _this_ direct.

The other Yugi was also very concerned, for the same reason.

"It's too late," said Kyu. "Yugi already chose the Mei door…" She chuckled. "You should have listened to your friend instead of taking a gamble, Yugi… the correct answer is the Kyu door!" The model of the Kyu door opened, revealing a key. "This key is the only thing that can open the exit!" She laughed. "Yugi! You chose wrong! Thereby you are forbidden to leave this labyrinth! You and your friends must stay here – "

The other Yugi chuckled. "I knew it…" she said.

Mei and Kyu's eyebrows raised. "What?" asked Kyu.

"You gave everything away," said the other Yugi. "All the clues I needed were on your faces… those smug expressions, confident that I wouldn't be able to choose correctly… because there _is_ no right answer! If I chose Mei you'd say the correct door is Kyu. If I chose Kyu you'd say Mei… in other words, you decide which door is correct after knowing what their opponents chose…"

"It's a perfect swindle…" said Bakura. She chuckled, a "H-heh heh heh..."

"Bakura…" Ansei _knew_ something was wrong. The last time she chuckled like that…

"That doesn't matter!" said Kyu. "You still couldn't answer correctly! We win the game!"

"Too bad for you," said the other Yugi. "I chose the Kyu door!"

Mei and Kyu were shocked. When the other Yugi lifted her hand off the other coin, it also had Kyu on it.

"The coin I hid under my right hand only had Kyu written on one side," explained the other Yugi. " You only _assumed_ it had Mei written on it. But the first coin, the coin I revealed, had Mei written on one side and Kyu on the other…" She chuckled. "I forgot to tell you. One of my hands doesn't play fair."

Bakura blinked, letting out a small gasp. "What… what just happened?" she asked. She had blacked out for a moment. Not a good sign. "Did you just win, Yugi?" she asked.

"Are you feeling okay, Bakura?" asked Ansei.

_Did Bakura figure out their trap?_ wondered the other Yugi. _I had no idea she knew… I was saved by her shouting and distracting them so they wouldn't find out about my double-sided coin…_

The five went to the Kyu door.

"Yes! We're out of the maze!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Next stop: Pegasus' castle!" said the other Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided in the last chapter to do a bit more foreshadowing of how the other Yugi solves the riddle, and make the explanation more clear, because I did not get it when I was reading the manga the first time.


	47. To the Castle!

"This is the way out!" said Honda, pointing to her left.

"Dammit…" said Jounouchi. "Now that we're on the other side, we can see both doors lead to the same place! Stupid Meikyu sisters… what a bunch of liars…"

"But we can't relax yet," said Yugi. "We still don't know if this path will lead us above ground… maybe it'll go right into the castle dungeon…"

With that, the five walked down the hall, which turned back into rough stone. Yugi took the camera back out of her jacket pocket.

"Can you hear me, Grandma?" she asked. "I'm finally on my way to Pegasus' castle! Hold on! I'll defeat Pegasus and get your soul out of this video!"

"Yugi… don't worry about me," said Sugako. "To be a true champion, you can't be afraid of losing… only then can true strength be born! Do you understand, Yugi?"

"I do!" said Yugi.

"I wonder if any other duelists have reached Pegasus' castle already," said Bakura.

"There's Kaiba…" said Yugi. "She isn't really in the tournament, but she headed towards Pegasus' castle… I wonder if they let her in?"

"Who knows?" said Jounouchi.

"Hey, look!" said Honda, pointing to something in the distance. The other four looked. "It's an exit! There's the light!"

"What?!" asked Jounouchi. She took a closer look. "You're right, it has to be!"

"At last!" said Ansei. "We can get outside!"

"Yahoo! We made it!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "Yugi! Let's get some fresh air!"

"Yeah!" said Yugi.

With that, the five ascended the stairs.

Meanwhile, in Pegasus' castle…

"Is Mr. Crocketts all right?" asked a security guard.

"We don't know his status at the moment!" said Saruwatari.

"He's still held hostage in the guest room!" said another security guard.

Curse you, Setomi Kaiba! thought Saruwatari.

Meanwhile, in the aforementioned guest room…

Crocketts called out for help, his voice rather strangled.

Kaiba was sitting in a chair, foot holding down the lid to her briefcase, which was currently trapping Crocketts's neck so he couldn't escape. Saruwatari barged into the room. Seeing his coworker's head in the briefcase, he yelled, "Kaiba! Let him go!"

"Then bring me Pegasus!" said Kaiba. "If you keep me waiting any longer, I will snap her so-called advisor's neck!"

Turning to one of the security guards, Saruwatari asked, "Did you inform Ms. Pegasus about her?"

"Yes!" said the security guard in question. "But… sh-she said to wait until the time was right…"

_T-time…?! What is Ms. Pegasus thinking?_ wondered Saruwatari.

"I know you cowards have taken Mokuno prisoner," said Kaiba. "Are you still going to deny it, even with your life at stake?"

"I-I don't know…" said Crocketts, face covered in sweat. "I-I'm telling you the truth…"

"I already took all my important cards out of that briefcase, you know," said Kaiba. "If you insist on continuing with this deception, your blood will be easy to wash off the duralumin case…"

Crocketts gasped for breath. _Before Industrial Illusions can take over Kaiba Corporation,_ he thought, _we need the key that Mokuno swallowed… we don't have the key yet… if I tell her about Mokuno, the entire plan will be ruined…_ Crocketts let out a wordless cry of pain. _How did this happen?! Last night, she came to the castle… I told her that there was a room in the annex… but she struck me upside the head with her briefcase… Saruwatari came, pointing a gun at Kaiba… but Kaiba pointed her own gun at me…_

_"Saruwatari, isn't it?" Kaiba asked. "It's because of KaibaCorp's special employee training that you know how to hold a weapon… did you ever finish the course? Watch… I'll show you how to fire a gun right now…" She pushed the end of the barrel against my head. I begged him to put his gun down… she was serious about shooting me… He dropped the gun. She ordered me to carry her briefcase to the guest room, and that I would be her hostage… I had no choice but to do it… the gun was at my head the whole way there…_

Meanwhile, at Pegasus' office…

Pegasus' computer made an alert sound. Someone was calling. She answered. It was a security guard.

"Ms. Pegasus," he said, "we received a report that Yugi has collected ten star chips and is heading toward the castle…"

"I was waiting for this moment!" said Pegasus. "Excellent, Yugi! I knew that you could do it. However… the road to this castle may be longer and harder than you think… I'm not quite ready to end this most enjoyable game…" She chuckled. "Now, let me see… I had _another_ guest waiting, didn't I?" She opened an application on her computer to pull up footage from the security cameras, choosing to view the footage of the guest bedroom.

In the guest room, Kaiba saw a screen in the room turn on, showing Pegasus' face. "Hello there, Kaiba!" she said.

"Pegasus!" snapped Kaiba. _This_ loon of all people…

"Oh…" said Pegasus. "Kaiba, you disappoint me… where did you learn your manners? Do you always act like this in people's homes?"

"Pegasus, I know, while I was gone, you tried to take over Kaiba Corporation, and abducted my little sister," said Kaiba, glaring. "Give her back!" she shouted.

Pegasus chuckled. "Well, sure," said Pegasus. "Under one condition!"

"What is it?!" snapped Kaiba. She did not have time to waste!

"You should know what it is…" said Pegasus.

Kaiba was stunned. She didn't mean…

"You and her are like the separate ends of this tie," she said. Tying it, she continued, "If you tie it together, they pull tightly against each other, sharing the same fate… bound together, each one straining against the other. The time has come…"

"You don't mean – "

"Yes… you must defeat Yugi!" said Pegasus. "When you see this image from my surveillance cameras, you'll know you don't have any choice…" The image on the screen shifted to an underground room. At the center of the screen was a room barred off from the rest of it. Behind the bars was…

"Mokuno!" Indeed, Mokuno's wrists were chained to the wall, Mokuno herself unconscious.

In the aforementioned room, Mokuno's eyes opened. _Big sister…_ she thought. _I wish you could come, but… you're probably still in that chair back at the mansion… not moving… not talking… I'll protect your company… they'll never get the key from me! So when you come back, it'll be waiting for you…_ She lifted something up. A pendent, shaped like a Duel Monsters card, that she had been hiding under her shirt up to this point. _At Death-T, Yugi said that you'll come back when you solve the puzzle of your heart…_ She opened the pendant. In it was half of a picture, taken so long ago… the last time Setomi had ever smiled. _So I took the picture of us together and made it into a pendant… this is the only treasure I have now… I put the other half around your neck… as long as you have that, I know you'll come back to me… that's what I'm wishing for… the puzzle of your heart… this is the final piece…_

"Urr…" She lowered her head. She hated this. Not being able to do a damn thing except follow the orders of the person responsible for all this. Just then, she noticed something slip out from under her shirt. A pendant. Shaped like a Duel Monsters card. She remembered seeing Mokuno making two of these, before her coma. At the time, she would have mocked her for it. But now, this was the last she had of her. For now, at least.

"Saruwatari!" said Pegasus. "Give Kaiba those things we were talking about!"

"Yes ma'am!" he said. "Kaiba! Take these!" He held his hand out, opening it to reveal five star-shaped chips. Kaiba looked up. "It's five star chips," he said. "Mokuno stole these and hid them in her pocket! Your little sister really looks up to you…" He chuckled. He dropped the chips onto the table.

"Wager those star chips and battle Yugi!" said Pegasus. "If you win, I'll let you into the castle, where Mokuno is."

"Pegasus…" growled Kaiba. "Don't forget that the 'tie of fate' is wrapped around your own neck!"

Pegasus merely chuckled.

Meanwhile, outside…

"Finally!" said Jounouchi. "We're out of the cave!"

"Where on the island are we?" asked Bakura.

"Hey, look!" said Ansei, pointing. The other four looked. "It's Pegasus' castle!"

"Wow…" said Jounouchi. "We finally made it…"

"Yes…" said Yugi. But she saw something… somebody was there…

"Kaiba!" said Yugi, surprised.

"Yugi…" said Kaiba. "We meet again…"

"What the heck is she doing standing there?!" yelled Jounouchi. "Is she trying to stop us from going into the castle?"

"You don't think…" said Honda. Hesitantly, she continued, "She couldn't have switched to Pegasus' side…?"

"You _bet_ she could have!" growled Jounouchi darkly. "She's rotten to the core! She'd sell out anybody!"

"Let's go up there anyway!" said the other Yugi, who had taken over. "Where else are we going to go?"

The five ascended the stairs. Kaiba was glaring at them.

"What's the big deal, Kaiba?" asked Jounouchi. "You're blocking the door! Get out of our way! If not, a few seconds from now your body's gonna be rolling down these stairs!"

"Jounouchi, let me handle this," said the other Yugi. "Kaiba, let us into the castle."

"Yugi, I knew you would beat the opponents on this island, no matter how strong," said Kaiba. "That's why I let you fight them. Because there is only one person in this world that can beat you! And that person is me!"

The other Yugi was silent.

"I realized my fate on this island," said Kaiba. "Yugi, as long as we're both alive, one of us will always be a thorn in the side of the other. The winds of battle blow in the place where we fight, forever!"

"Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. You still bare your fangs to me! she thought. Had Kaiba not changed in the slightest?

"Kaiba!" said Ansei. "Please stop this fighting!"

"Kaiba, you little – " It took the combined efforts of Ansei, Honda, and Bakura to restrain Jounouchi. "Let me at her!" she said. "I'll punch her lights out!"

"Quit it, man!" said Honda.

"Hmm…" said Kaiba. She then noticed something as Jounouchi struggled in her so-called friends' grip. "Impossible…" she murmured to herself. "I can't believe this loser collected ten star chips too…" Out loud, she said, "I promote you from loser to deadbeat!"

"Did you just call me a _deadbeat?_ " asked Jounouchi. "Why you…"

"This is a miracle, in a way," said Kaiba, ignoring Jounouchi. "I searched in the darkness for an answer. 'Why did I lose at Death-T?' How did Yugi summon up a miracle back then? And I think I found the answer… maybe… the answer to what Yugi had back then, that I didn't have… can a person be strong when they are shouldering the burden of protecting somebody? The only way I can be sure of the answer is by winning a duel! Yugi! If you want to enter the castle, you'll have to get through me first! This is a duel of fate!"

The other Yugi could see it in her eyes. There was a fiery look to them that had been completely absent in their previous duels. The Kaiba in front of her right now was _not_ the same person she knew before. She clearly _cared_ about the outcome of this duel. This wasn't the look of a person whose unbroken string of victories left them disinterested in duels they were virtually guaranteed to win. _This_ was the face of someone facing a worthy opponent.

"Yugi! Don't risk it!" said Bakura.

"You already collected ten star chips!" said Ansei. "It's pointless!"

"Either Kaiba or Yugi enters the castle, not both of you!" said Saruwatari.

"You traitor!" said Jounouchi. "You really _are_ working for Pegasus!"

"Don't insult me!" said Kaiba. "I'm not fighting for _these_ scum! Yugi, you should know! You should know our duelist blood has brought us together once again!"

"All right!" said the other Yugi. "I accept this duel! And I will defeat you!"

"Follow me to the stage for our battle!" said Kaiba.

The six made their way to a specific part of the castle, a long, narrow platform on the edge of the structure, whose ends were wide enough for the other Yugi and Kaiba to stand on either end comfortably.

"Yugi!" said Kaiba. "We'll each bet five star chips on this duel! Only the person who wins may enter Pegasus' castle… do you understand?"

"Fine!" said the other Yugi, removing five star chips from her duel glove.

"Furthermore," continued Kaiba, "we'll use Duel Disks for this game! The most advanced Duel Monsters battle machine!" The Duel Disk was a machine consisting of two parts: an arm mount and a round disk with five slots for cards (the latter its namesake), connected by a high-tension wire. "After you summon a monster," said Kaiba, "you throw the Duel Disk into the field!" She demonstrated the throwing technique. Admittedly, there was a limitation of this device (namely that you could only have one monster out on the field at a time, and up to four other cards in the other slots), but this was just a prototype. "Shuffle your deck and put it in the deck holder!" The other Yugi did exactly that. When she turned on the Duel Disk, she set the life point counter to 2000, as did Kaiba.

"Go, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "You beat her twice already!"

"Are you ready, Yugi?" asked Kaiba.

"I am! And I will win!" said the other Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic, I'm having the Duel Disk Mk I be more so a prototype of the Battle City Duel Disks than anything else. I thought it would make the fic a bit more interesting, and give me an opportunity [to show off some of my knowledge of technology.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TechnologyPorn)
> 
> Fun fact! Some of the [early real life Duel Disk toys](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Duel_Disk#Real-Life_Duel_Disk) had a few issues! I'm including these as issues for the Duel Disk in the next chapter! Mostly these will be issues fitting the cards, because the Duel Disk Mks I and II are pretty radically different in design.
> 
> The reason I'm going for more of a [Flawed Prototype](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FlawedPrototype) approach to them is because it's pretty clearly stated in canon that these Duel Disks were designed _specifically_ to beat Pegasus. As such, the explanation here in this fic is that Kaiba had a limited amount of time to both a), get these working and b), save Mokuno. It can take a while to get machines as advanced as _these_ working.
> 
> Why, yes, I do frequent TV Tropes, why do you ask?


	48. Storge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Body horror, suicidal thoughts.

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 2000 life points. They shuffled each other's decks, handing them back, a slightly awkward ordeal, given the design of the Duel Disk, and drew five cards for their opening hand. The other Yugi noted that it was slightly difficult getting the cards in and out of the Duel Disk, getting a bit easier with each card she drew. Kaiba seemed to have no issue, though, seeing as how she drew the first card more carefully.

"Be careful throwing the disk," Kaiba warned. "Do _not_ snap the wires." It had taken far too long and had been far too much stress just to get these _functional._

The other Yugi played Curse of Dragon (2000 attack points and 1500 defense points) while Kaiba played Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600 attack points and 1200 defense points). The ruleset had to be altered, seeing as how using a Duel Disk had limitations tabletops didn't. They threw the disks, the other Yugi throwing her disk a bit clumsily. Holograms of the monsters appeared, bigger than the ones in the Battle Boxes, bigger than the duelists themselves, even. There were also four holograms of Duel Monsters cards, between the duelists and their respective monsters.

_This is the most high-tech card battle system I've ever seen!_ thought the other Yugi.

The other four were impressed, as well. Despite the low polygon count and the blurry textures, just being able to duel _anywhere_ was impressive in its own right.

"I'll start!" said Kaiba. "My main monster, Ryu-Kishin Powered, attacks!" She chuckled. "Of course, my cybernetic gargoyle isn't nearly as strong as your dragon, so I attack the left-most card! Powered Beam!"

"You can attack the cards directly?!" asked the other Yugi.

"Of course, there is a risk in attacking unknown facedown cards!" said Kaiba. "If it's a monster with higher attack points, you run the risk of dying! But it looks like my instincts were correct, and I was able to take out one of your weak monsters!" Indeed, the Feral Imp (1300 attack points) was destroyed, leaving the other Yugi with 1700 life points.

_The facedown cards are all in attack mode,_ thought the other Yugi. _If I'm attacked and lose, I'll lose life points… I get it… so this is a more advanced ruleset… I'll have to guess what facedown cards she has! I'm getting pumped up!_ Out loud, she said, "Are you ready, Kaiba? It's time to settle this once and for all!"

"Yugi!" said Kaiba. "Even though we're enemies in this fight, we share the same objective!"

"Beating Pegasus!" said the other Yugi.

"Indeed," said Kaiba. "But if you _really_ want to see Pegasus defeated, your only choice is to lose here to me, because it is impossible for you to beat Pegasus!"

"What?" asked the other Yugi.

"Yugi!" said Kaiba. "Look at this! I invented this machine! And only a person who uses it can have a chance of beating Pegasus! There's no doubt Pegasus can read people's minds… I don't know whether it's some psychic power, or just a trick, but it works. These holograms hide your face and body! And there's a chance that, by standing further apart, you'll be out of range of Pegasus' power! The Duel Disk was designed just to beat her! I will bury Pegasus with these hands!"

"Save the boasting for _after_ you beat me!" said the other Yugi. "It's my turn!" She drew a card. _Curse of Dragon, my main monster, is strong enough to kill Kaiba's gargoyle…_ she thought. _But if one of those cards is a spell card that can increased Ryu-Kishin's attack points, then Curse of Dragon might be destroyed instead!_

_Heh heh…_ thought Kaiba, smirking. _I know what you're thinking, Yugi… it seems like you've grasped this new version of the game…_ These rules were modified from the original rules. The maximum number of cards in one's hand was five. There were five slots in the machine, one for the main monster and the other four, surrounding the main monster slot, for any other cards, including other monster cards. These other monsters would be considered to be in attack mode. Kaiba had deliberately designed it so that the best strategy was to reinforce one monster with many cards. If she couldn't get the experience to mimic the tabletop experience, she could at least set it up to give her particular strategy the advantage. "What's the matter, Yugi?" she asked. "Come defeat my Ryu-Kishin Powered! If you think there's a spell card among my sub cards, you can trust your instincts and attack! If it's a spell card, any attack will destroy it! But some of my sub cards are monsters. If the card you attack is a powerful monster, you'll lose your monster and your life points!"

_In other words,_ thought the other Yugi, _it's dangerous to just attack without thinking… but I don't have any spell cards that can power up Curse of Dragon! All right! The only thing to do is attack!_ Out loud, she said, "Go, Accursed Dragon! Attack Kaiba's Gargoyle! Flames of Hell!" The flames easily destroyed Ryu-Kishin, leaving Kaiba with 1600 life points.

Kaiba chuckled. "I knew you would come at me without fear… it was worth taking the first blow just to make sure of that. My turn!" She drew a card. "Cards that lose in battle are flicked out of the Duel Disk!" This was, of course, a bug, but she couldn't fix it, so she'd pass it off as a feature. "It's possible to reel the Duel Disk back in and add a new card, but I'm going to keep fighting with the cards I have! Come out, Swordstalker!" Swordstalker had 2000 attack points and 1600 defense points.

_Is she planning to turn one of her "sub card" monsters into her main monster?_ wondered the other Yugi.

"There's one disadvantage to attacking with a sub card monster," said Kaiba. "The other sub cards' magic effects won't work on it! You can only use the monsters' natural abilities… but Swordstalker has the ability to absorb the anger of his fallen comrades, channel it into his sword, and increase his attack points by twenty percent!" Indeed, Swordstalker's attack points were now 2400.

_Is this why she let me beat Ryu-Kishin Powered so easily?_ wondered the other Yugi.

Kaiba chuckled. "Go, Swordstalker!" she said. Swordstalker swung his sword at Curse of Dragon. Except… "What…?! Your monster disappeared?" And it wasn't like Swordstalker destroyed Curse of Dragon. The dragon had disappeared before the blade could even _touch_ it.

The other Yugi chuckled. "That's because I have the Shift card! Now I can replace your intended victim with a monster who's a little more well-matched! Specifically, my card with the highest attack points, Dark Magician! Now, Dark Magician! Kill the Swordstalker!"

Kaiba growled in frustration as her life points fell to 1500. This was not going as planned… but this did cause a positive feeling, ironically enough. _Mheh heh…_ she thought. _Yugi… fighting you again makes my heart beat faster._ She honestly wasn't sure why… but she was surprisingly welcoming of it. She reeled the Duel Disk back towards herself, and drew a card. "I will add a card to the Duel Disk!" she said. "I switch the positions of the cards and summon a new main monster!" She threw the disk back out. "La Jinn, the Genie of the Lamp!" La Jinn had 1800 attack points and 1000 defense points. "Yugi! Now it's your turn!"

The other Yugi reeled the Duel Disk back, again a bit clumsily, drawing a new card. She rearranged her cards, so Dark Magician was the main monster. She threw it back out. "Dark Magician!" she said. "Attack the Genie!"

"I activate a trap card!" said Kaiba. "Ancient Lamp!" La Jinn hid inside a lamp that had appeared. "Your Magician's spell bounces off the lamp, and hits your own cards! Curse of Dragon is destroyed!" The other Yugi now had 1200 life points.

"That was amazing," said the other Yugi. "To trap me… I applaud you!"

_Mheh heh heh… Yugi…_ thought Kaiba. _The_ real _trap is yet to come… the heart of the world's strongest monster has already started beating in my hand… I'm going to Polymerize three Blue-Eyes White Dragons! I already have one Blue-Eyes White Dragon. When I have three, my victory will begin._ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn! The trap is over! The magic lamp returns to my hand and the Genie of the Lamp reemerges! However, it's no match for your Dark Magician, so I have no choice but to attack your cards! Genie Fire Burial!" The card revealed itself as the hologram burned.

_Gh…_ thought the other Yugi. _I lost the Swords of Revealing Light!_

_Luck is with me,_ thought Kaiba. _I got rid of that annoying card that keeps your monsters from attacking for three turns…_ Out loud, she said, "My turn is over, but I can't leave the Ancient Lamp exposed like this, you'll just destroy it, so I shuffle my cards!" The card holograms moved rapidly back and forth, eventually slowing to a stop. "Now guess which on is the lamp!" said Kaiba. _Her only choice is to attack my cards. She has a one in four chance of hitting the lamp… but if she hits the Blue-Eyes White Dragon it's the end of her! Even the Dark Magician would die!_

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi.

"What's Yugi going to do?" asked Bakura. "How will she beat the combo of the Genie and the Lamp?"

"Don't worry!" said Ansei. "Yugi can do it!"

"I draw a card!" said the other Yugi, reeling the Duel Disk back. _The Mystic Box!_ she thought. _Good! This card will work!_ "I set a card!" she said. She threw the Duel Disk back out.

"Come on!" said Kaiba. "Attack me!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "Your Genie-Lamp combo is finished, Kaiba!" she said.

"What?!" asked Kaiba.

"I activate a spell card, the Eye of Truth!" said the other Yugi. "Now I'll see just which card of yours I need to destroy!" The card holograms flipped around for her to see. Four cards. Negate Attack, a beast-warrior card, Ancient Lamp, and… _The Blue Eyes White Dragon!_ thought the other Yugi. _She already has one in her hand…_

"I knew it, Kaiba had a Blue-Eyes!" said Jounouchi.

"B-but it's not _that_ bad!" said Ansei. "At least she doesn't have all three!"

"What?!" asked Bakura. " _Three_ Blue-Eyes White Dragons? There's no way you can beat a deck like that!"

"No!" said Ansei. "Yugi can beat it! She's done it before! And she'll do it again!"

_But why…?_ wondered the other Yugi. _Why isn't she using Blue-Eyes as her main monster? Does she mean to… she can't be!_

_I have to draw Polymerization and the remaining Blue-Eyes!_ thought Kaiba. _I was hoping to keep them all safely hidden in my hand until then… against a player of Yugi's caliber, attacking with a single Blue-Eyes White Dragon won't work! If I lose even one of them, she might use Monster Reborn and make it one of her own! But wait and see! I will merge the three dragons! When that time comes, I'll get you back for those defeats!_

_There's no doubt about it,_ thought the other Yugi. _If I were Kaiba, I'd try to merge three Blue-Eyes into one. I have to stop her somehow! But right now I don't have a card that can beat even one of her dragons!_ Out loud, she said, "All right! Mystic Box of Death!" Two boxes appeared on either side of the field, one of them surrounding Dark Magician and the other surrounding the Ancient Lamp. Many swords appeared and stabbed the box on the other Yugi's side of the field. When the boxes opened, Dark Magician appeared, unharmed, from the box on Kaiba's side, the Ancient Lamp being broken on the other Yugi's side. "Presto!" said the other Yugi. "The Dark Magician appears out of the other box!" Dark Magician then did something unexpected. She wagged her index finger at Kaiba, smirking. But… she used the animations from the Battle Box along with all the 3D models! She never recalled a finger-wagging animation for the Dark Magician!

"Black Magic!" said the other Yugi, interrupting Kaiba's thoughts. "La Jinn is slain!"

_Curse you,_ thought Kaiba as her life points fell to 800.

"Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. "I won't let you polymerize three Blue-Eyes! I'll take your life points to zero first!"

Kaiba chuckled. "Do it if you can, but don't underestimate me, Yugi! My formula for victory is more perfect than you think!"

The other Yugi chuckled. That's what they all said…

"Let's go!" said Kaiba. "My turn!" She reeled the Duel Disk back towards herself. She drew two cards, that being allowed for the purposes of having four sub-cards. _Mheh heh…_ she thought. _I'll show you a terrifying combo…_ She set Saggi the Dark Clown, a monster with 600 attack points and 1500 defense points, in defense position, and placed a trap card, Crush Card Virus, as one of her sub cards. _This is the ultimate combo!_ she thought. She threw the Duel Disk back out. The hologram of Saggi appeared.

_It's that card!_ thought the other Yugi. _Saggi the Dark Clown!_

"As you can see," said Kaiba, "I've played him in defense mode. I end my turn!"

_Saggi's defense is 1500,_ thought the other Yugi. _I can easily destroy him with my Dark Magician… but… there's something that just feels wrong…_

_Yugi…_ thought Kaiba. _You have no choice but to attack Saggi… I'll keep playing him forever until you take the bait… you are caught in a trap of hell!_

"My turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. A good one. Gaia the Fierce Knight. 2300 attack points and 2100 defense points. She reeled her Duel Disk back, replacing Dark Magician with Gaia the Fierce Knight. "I attack Saggi!" said the other Yugi. "Spiral Saber! The Dark Clown dies!" Indeed, Saggi was broken into many pieces.

Kaiba chuckled. "You fell for it!" she said.

Saggi laughed, despite being broken in pieces. An aura surrounded Gaia. He disappeared. But not just Gaia. The Dark Magician too.

"What's going on?!" asked the other Yugi. She expected something to happen to Gaia, but Dark Magician, too?!

Kaiba laughed. "This card did it!" she said. "The Virus card! I infected Saggi with the death virus! I planned it so that when your servant attacked Saggi, it would be infected by the disease! It's already infected the cards in your hand! Not just that, either! Your entire deck! Now all your cards over 1500 attack points will just die! Yugi! I destroyed your deck!"

_I lost all my most powerful monsters…_ thought the other Yugi. _I'll have to make use of spell cards! But how will I defeat three Blue-Eyes White Dragons…?_

"It's your turn!" said Kaiba. "Neither of us have a monster on the field… draw two cards and set them in your disk! Though my monster will destroy them in an instant!"

The other Yugi drew two cards. Summoned Skull and Silver Fang. She couldn't use Summoned Skull… she dropped it, considering the Duel Disk had no graveyard. The next version, if there was a next version, should really fix that…

She played Silver Fang in defense mode.

"My turn!" said Kaiba. She drew two cards. Excellent. Another Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and the trap card, Gift of the Mystical Elf. _Yugi, keep running and hiding while you play worthless cards to block my path! Meanwhile, turn by turn, the cards I need will fall into my hands… in the end, I'll collect Polymerization and the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon and complete the ultimate monster, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!_ She reeled her Duel Disk in to set her two cards in the sub card slots and play Battle Ox in attack mode. She threw the disk back out. "Go, my Ox!" said Kaiba. "Kill Silver Fang! Axe Crusher! Your wolf is dead!" She laughed. "Don't think this is my strongest monster! I have much stronger ones in reserve! Battle Ox is just the beginning of the end for you! Now, Yugi! It's your move!"

The other Yugi felt a drop of sweat forming as she looked at her hand. She could only draw cards. She did just that. Now she had Griffor and Mammoth Graveyard. Both had 1200 attack points. She reeled her Duel Disk in, played Griffor, and threw her disk back out.

"Hmph!" said Kaiba. "Griffor?! Another useless monster in defense mode… my minotaur will crush it and you'll be one card closer to your doom."

"Except it's _not_ in defense mode," said the other Yugi.

_What?!_ thought Kaiba. Oh no. Yugi had a plan. That was the only reason she would say that so confidently in this situation.

"I combo attack with this card! Horn of the Unicorn!" Horn of the Unicorn increased Griffor's attack points to 1900. Griffor easily destroyed Battle Ox. Now Kaiba had 600 life points.

"So you defeated that puny Battle Ox…" said Kaiba. "I almost want to _thank_ you for it! I activate my trap card, Gift of the Mystical Elf!" She chuckled. Now Kaiba had 900 life points. "Next turn, you'll be open to attack… I hope you made the right decision… my turn!" She drew two cards. She smirked. The exact two cards she needed. The third Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Polymerization. _Mheh heh…_ she thought. _On this turn, I'll play the first dragon… merging three of them will take one more turn… now you're at my mercy, Yugi! At last! At last!_ She threw her disk back out. "Come out, Blue-Eyes!" said Kaiba. "This is it! Get ready! Burst Stream of Destruction!" The other Yugi now had 100 life points. "That was close, wasn't it? Good." Kaiba chuckled. "Now, it's your turn!"

The other Yugi drew two cards. She reeled her Duel Disk back. "I play the Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode!" she said. "My turn's over."

"Yugi…" said Kaiba. "From the moment I met you, I tasted the thirst of defeat… a hunger for victory that was never satisfied… never, ever… until now. Now, my Blue-Eyes! Polymerize!"

The other Yugi's eyes widened. Oh no. _Not that!_ she thought.

Kaiba laughed. "What do you think?" she asked. "Isn't it beautiful? The world's strongest killing machine!" Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was, as one might expect from the name, a white dragon with blue eyes, but unlike its components, it had three heads. A hydra, essentially. And indeed, it was very powerful. At 4500 base attack points, it was the most powerful card that anyone present had seen.

"Was this Kaiba's plan all along…?" asked Ansei.

How was the other Yugi going to fight it? All she had was weak monsters, spells, and traps. One shot and she was deader than Death himself. But she had to do something. As long as she could still draw a card, she would not, could not surrender.

"Yugi! Are you ready?" asked Kaiba. "This cross I've carried, this cross of defeat, now it's your turn to carry it! Here I come! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack! Ultimate Burst!"

_She's attacking my cards, not my main monster!_ thought the other Yugi. _The sub cards are all in attack mode…! If she hits_ one _of my monsters, I'm dead!_

The card that was hit was Monster Recovery.

"Hmph!" said Kaiba. "I killed a stupid spell card… but that's all right. There's no way out! Nothing will save you! Now, Yugi! It's your turn! If you don't surrender, draw a card!"

The other Yugi drew two cards.

_That's right! Come at me until the very end! I want to crush your skills at maximum strength!_ thought Kaiba.

_Polymerization and the Living Arrow?_ thought the other Yugi. _These cards won't beat the Ultimate Dragon…_ She reeled her Duel Disk back, added the two cards, then threw the disk back out. If Kaiba attacked her cards and hit Mammoth Graveyard, she'd lose.

"My turn!" said Kaiba. _Let's see…I_ could _attack her sub cards… but that could be dangerous… she could have a trap card in there… and my Ultimate Dragon could get hurt… all right… I'll play it safe for this turn…_ Out loud, she said, "Ultimate Burst! The Stone Soldier is turned to dust!"

_Yes!_ thought the other Yugi. _I survived another turn! I still have a chance!_

Kaiba chuckled. "What now?" she asked. "What's your next move? There's no card in the world that can defeat the Ultimate Dragon!" She laughed.

_No!_ thought the other Yugi. _There has to be a way! No monster is unbeatable! In any case, if I can't survive the next attack, I'm dead… this is it…_ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn! I'll bet my life on this card!" she said, drawing a card.

_It's useless!_ thought Kaiba. _You can draw any card you want, but you'll die in the end!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The other Yugi was surprised to find her next card. She chuckled. "Kaiba," she said. "I just drew the ultimate card! See for yourself! I'll make this my main monster!" The card in question was Kuriboh, a monster with 300 attack points and 200 defense points.

_What?!_ thought Kaiba. _Kuriboh?! On the field? In attack mode?! Is she crazy? It's the weakest monster in the game… it's only good for its effect..._ She chuckled. "Yugi… it's your right to give up… but of all the cards, to play _Kuriboh…_ that big-eyed fuzzball is the weakest card in Duel Monsters! No one ever plays that on the field! If you think our battle's a joke, I won't forgive you!"

"You're wrong, Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. "This is my trump card! It'll beat your dragon!"

_Th-that pathetic thing? Beat my Ultimate Dragon? Nonsense!_ thought Kaiba.

"Here I go!" said the other Yugi. "I play the Multiply card! It duplicates Kuriboh!"

Indeed, countless Kuribohs appeared…

"Ultimate Burst!" said Kaiba. But it caused the Kuribohs thus struck to explode. Great. Just what she needed. Exploding hairballs.

"And now I'll play my second trump card!" said the other Yugi. "Living Arrow lets me play one of my spell cards on your monsters! Because you like Polymerization so much, I'm fusing one of my monsters with yours!" Indeed, she fused Mammoth Graveyard with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Oh, no. Mammoth Graveyard, being undead, would ending up dying along with the Ultimate Dragon. "The Mammoth had 1200 attack points," said the other Yugi, "so your Ultimate Dragon loses 1200 attack points each turn. Now _you're_ the one losing!" With that, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon had 3300 attack points.

Kaiba attacked the multitude of Kuribohs, to no avail.

"Give up, Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. "As long as my Kuriboh minefield is floating in the air, your big, flashy attacks can't do a _thing!_ "

"Gh…" said Kaiba. _These stupid vermin,_ she thought. _The Ultimate Dragon's getting weaker and weaker, and it can't bust through these filthy things… plus, I still have five cards, so I can't draw a new one…_ She barely paid attention to the other Yugi announcing the end of her turn. _Is this the end? Is that what that scum plans to do? No! I can't lose! Not_ again! _If I lose, there will be no one to save Mokuno…_ She heard her sister's voice, calling for her. She saw her, stuck in the rotting, liquifying remains of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, reaching out for her, begging her to help. _Mokuno…_ she thought, feeling cold sweat on her face. She saw her younger self, wide-eyed, running up to the dragon's corpse, calling Mokuno's name… but it was no use. Mokuno was swallowed by the dead dragon, with a sickening _spluk!_ Kaiba could only stand there in horror. She then saw it. Her own hand was melting away. Her younger self turned to her, glaring. Kaiba could feel her face melting, as her younger self continued to glare, a look of _Why didn't you do anything?!_ A look of, _This is your fault, you monster!_ A look of _You could be bothered to duel Yugi, but you couldn't be bothered to save your own sister, your own flesh and blood?!_ Yet, despite her extreme guilt, despite the fact that she was willing her body to move, she couldn't do a damn – 

She snapped back to reality, with a small gasp. Back at Pegasus' castle, back to her duel, with the fused Ultimate Dragon and Mammoth Graveyard, with the multitude of Kuribohs. _Mokuno…_ she thought, pulling the pendant out from under her shirt to look at it. Somehow, even with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon only having 2100 attack points, there was something comforting about it. She ended her turn stoically. If there wasn't a way to win, not a way to save Mokuno… then what was the point of doing anything? She barely registered the other Yugi attacking the Ultimate Dragon, now at 900 attack points, with the Celtic Guardian. But the attack only made the Ultimate Dragon lose one of its heads. Nonetheless, Kaiba now was down to 400 life points.

She finally spoke. "Yugi…" she said, barely loud enough for her opponent to hear. "The game has only _just_ begun… I lost five hundred life points from that attack… so… each of these tiles on the ground will be one hundred of my life points… I will move back as many life points as I lose."

The other Yugi was shocked. She had no idea... so was that why she took so long to take her turn...?

"I lose five hundred life points… in other words, I'll move back five squares!" She did precisely that.

_Kaiba…!_ thought the other Yugi. No… no! She had to stop this!

"I have nothing more to lose," she said. If she couldn't save Mokuno, what was the point of living? She was the last thing that brought any kind of real joy to her life. "If you hit me again… if you win this game… I will die. When you play Duel Monsters, you either win, or you die. I guess it's just my time."

"Kaiba!" said Ansei. "Please don't do anything dangerous!"

"That jerk!" said Jounouchi. "Kaiba, that's fighting dirty! Making a bluff like that to try to keep Yugi from using full force! You spoiled creep!" How dare she! How _fucking_ dare she! She always knew Kaiba was a horrible person, but she was sinking to new lows!

"But what if… what if it's _not_ a bluff?" asked Bakura. She knew the look on Kaiba's face was not that of a sore loser bent on winning at all costs. She was all too familiar with that sort of look on someone's face…

Jounouchi was silent. What if she brought Kaiba over the edge? What if she _really_ died? She would be responsible for a death…

"Yugi…" said Kaiba. "On your next turn, your _real_ worth as a duelist will be tested. A duel is like two mirrors held against each other… how would you evade your own attack? You have to be a step ahead and put yourself in the mind of your opponent… victory only comes when you _become_ your opponent… because only then can you know yourself. If our positions were reversed, Yugi… I would push you over the edge without a second's thought." _Just what a loser deserves,_ she thought.

_You…_ thought the other Yugi, gritting her teeth.

"But I didn't say I give up," she said. "You killed one of my monsters… so that means I can draw a new card…" She did just that. "This one! Monster Reborn! I will resurrect the Blue-Eyes with this card!" She did just that. From the liquified remains of the stump where one of the Ultimate Dragon's heads once was, a fresh head of one of the Blue-Eyes sprang forth. "Now one Blue-Eyes with normal attack points has been resurrected," said Kaiba. "But unfortunately, because it is Polymerized, I will have to wait one turn to attack. Now, Yugi! It's your turn!"

The other Yugi dreaded those words now. If she defeated even _one_ rotted head, she could win. She could rescue her grandmother! But it would be at the cost of Kaiba's life… she hesitated.

"Yugi!" said Kaiba. She gestured, moving her thumb in a slicing motion in front of her throat. "Slit my throat with your card!"

In the end, the other Yugi had made her decision. She couldn't afford to lose. She couldn't afford to never see her grandmother again outside of that video camera. "Celtic Guardian, att – "

Many things happened at once. The four watching the duel were shocked. Kaiba stood there, resigned to her death. Yugi couldn't let this happen. She could find, _would_ find, another way. A way to save both of them. She took over, forcibly. Yugi dropped to her knees, sorrowful. She rested her hand on her deck, the gesture to indicate surrender.

_I win,_ thought Kaiba.

Yugi sat there, tears in her eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason the 3D models used for the holograms are so blocky and low-res here is because in this fic, because Kaiba had to put together the Duel Disks in a hurry, she had to reuse assets from the Battle Boxes. The Battle Boxes' models were never meant to be so big, so they have a low polygon count and have blurry textures, as real-life game developers do for anything you're not supposed to get a close look at anyway.


	49. Another Kind of Courage

Everyone stared at the sight before them.

Yugi was quietly sniffling, a few tears falling form her eyes.

Kaiba stood there, silently.

Bandit Kate, who had seen all this, wondered, "What the hell was that? That kid had it won, and she let it slip through her hands…"

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi. She dashed over to Yugi's side, along with Ansei, Honda, and Bakura.

"Are you okay?!" asked Honda.

"Yugi…?" asked Ansei.

"Ugh…" she said, tears continuing to fall. "I-I couldn't do it… if I had kept playing… Kaiba might have died!" She had almost killed a person! She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yugi… you mean… you _let_ Kaiba win?" asked Jounouchi.

"Yugi stopped her other self…" said Ansei. "Because the battle was getting out of control…"

"I'm scared…" said Yugi. "I'm scared of this game! And of the other me!"

_Yugi…!_ thought Ansei. "It's all right," he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing, Yugi… so don't cry!"

"Ansei…" said Yugi, giving a grateful smile.

"You showed weakness at the end…" said Kaiba, quietly. "I won, Yugi."

"Kaiba…" said Yugi.

"If you had the cold-heartedness to push me off the ravine, you could have won… caring about the enemy's safety is the most foolish thing a duelist can do."

"Kaiba!" said Jounouchi, glaring at her. "The game isn't about murder, you jerk!"

"Games mean conflict, a combat between enemies," said Kaiba. "It's the same for all of them. Cards, chess, the blood-soaked wars of the human race. All these are different kinds of games. And it's the same for all of them. You win or you die. There is no middle ground." 

Jounouchi continued to glare at Kaiba. What the hell was she going on about? "Win or die?!" She had heard _enough_ of that nonsense!

"Do you know what allows people to play games in this world? A single chip called life. When I threw my chip of life on the board, Yugi exposed her weakness and lost the game."

"That's not true, Kaiba!" said Ansei. "You're the one who lost!"

"What?" asked Kaiba, stoic expression slipping for half a second, before reverting.

"You say people's struggles are a game!" he continued. "That's totally wrong! Facing yourself no matter how tough things get… and keeping up the fight… that's what games are really about! You bet your chip of life as if it meant _nothing!_ You lost to _yourself!_ When you realized you were going to lose, you didn't have the courage to keep living! Enough of this 'win or die' nonsense! What makes you think a _game_ is worth dying over?"

Kaiba was silent. She had no comeback.

"Listen," said Ansei. " _Real_ courage is protecting that chip you have in your hands, no matter what! The moment you give that up is when you lose!"

"And don't forget who saved your chip when you were gonna throw it away!" said Jounouchi. "It was Yugi!"

"Say what you want, it's still the howl of a loser," said Kaiba. "I'm taking these star chips."

"Then go!" said Jounouchi. "And don't forget this either!" She tossed Yugi's Duel Disk back at Kaiba, who caught it.

Turning towards Yugi, Honda said, "Cheer up, Yugi. You haven't given up just because you lost half your star chips, have you?"

"Huh…?" asked Yugi.

"That's right, Yugi!" said Bakura. "There _have_ to be some duelists left on the island! You can still win more star chips!"

"Bakura…" said Yugi.

"C'mon, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "We won't give up until you get your star chips back!"

"We're with you all the way!" said Bakura.

"Yeah!" said Ansei. "Let's go!"

_Guys…_ thought Yugi. _Thank you…_ Out loud, she said, "Okay! I won't give up!" _I will make it to Pegasus' castle!_ she thought.

Kaiba walked towards the entryway. "Yugi," she said, not bothering to turn around. "I'll leave Pegasus' remains for you."

_Kaiba…_ thought Yugi.

Saruwatari opened the door when Kaiba arrived. Kate was standing beside the door, leaning on the wall with one foot on it, arms crossed. "Good show," she said. "You kicked her ass."

"Hm," said Kaiba. "I didn't know a prize-hunting hyena had found its way to this island."

"Let me tell you something, asshole," said Kate. "I'm taking the prize and Pegasus' head. But of course, a rich kid like you probably doesn't care about prizes."

Kaiba was silent. She took several steps forward when Kate said something.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Kaiba stopped for a moment to listen.

"'God gives people a chip called life.' That's what you said, wasn't it? So this chip… is it worth the same for everybody? For the poor and the rich?"

"I thought that distinction was for you _hyenas_ to sort out, as you hunt for your next feast…" murmured Kaiba, just loud enough for Kate to hear. She walked off into the castle.

_Damn it! You spoiled brat…_ thought Kate. "Hmph. You little shit," she murmured. At a normal speaking voice, she said, "Well, guess I'll go in the castle too!"

Back outside the castle, Jounouchi said, "Look! Kaiba's going into the castle." Just then, she noticed something. "There's another one. Bandit Kate! Yugi! We can't waste any time! We gotta get ten star chips somehow!"

"Okay!" said Yugi, following Jounouchi, as were the other three.

Inside the castle, Kaiba made her way to the padlock, the one she saw before. She inserted the star chips into the holes. With that, the mechanism unlocked, and the doors opened. She walked down the hallway.

Back outside the castle, the five ran down the stairs in a hurry to find a duelist for Yugi to fight. It didn't matter at this point whether it was a participant or a player killer.

"It's too late!" said Saruwatari. "Yugi, you're disqualified!"

The five turned around.

"Look over there!" said Saruwatari.

The five looked in the direction Saruwatari was pointing in. "See that boat leaving the island?" he asked. "It's full of duelists who lost their star chips! All the remaining players except you!"

"What?!" asked Jounouchi.

"In other words," said Saruwatari, "the four finalists for the championship tournament in the castle have already been decided!"

"What'd you say?!" asked Jounouchi, eyes widened.

"The first is Kate Howard!" said Saruwatari.

_That lousy –_

"What about Jounouchi?" asked Yugi. "She has ten star chips! You've got to – "

"Don't worry!" said Saruwatari. "She's one of the four!"

_Thank goodness,_ thought Yugi.

"You mean I…"

"You did it, Jounouchi!" said Yugi, smiling.

Jounouchi was silent. _But Yugi didn't…_

"Is Kaiba the third finalist?" asked Honda.

"No," said Saruwatari. "She's a special guest of Ms. Pegasus. She won't participate in the tournament. The third contestant arrived earlier. But they left. They said they were coming back and bringing the fourth finalist… when those two get back, that makes four contestants! You didn't make it, Yugi!"

Yugi was shocked into silence. She looked down at the ground.

Jounouchi looked down at the star chips on her gauntlet. She inhaled and exhaled. This was a tough decision, but it was necessary. "Yugi, take my star chips!" she said.

"But why…?" asked Yugi.

"The only reason I even _got_ to play is because you gave me one of your star chips," explained Jounouchi. "These ten star chips belong to you!"

Yugi's brows raised. _Jounouchi…_ she thought. "No!" she said out loud. "You won those star chips for your brother! There's no way I can take them!"

"But you've _got_ to!" said Jounouchi, gripping Yugi's shoulders. "Yugi! You can't give up! Never!"

"This time… I…"

"Hey!" said a familiar voice. "There you are! I found you!" It was Maiku Jaku.

The five turned towards Maiku.

"Jounouchi, you collected ten star chips?!" asked Maiku, shocked.

"It's gonna be half that now!" said Jounouchi.

Maiku turned towards Yugi. "Huh…?!" he asked. _No way,_ he thought. _Yugi only has five…!_ Out loud, he asked Yugi, "You're not disqualified, are you…?"

Yugi was silent.

"You gotta be kidding!" said Maiku. "I won't accept that! I'm paying you back the star chips I owed you!"

The other four looked at him, wide-eyed. "Sixteen star chips?!" asked Jounouchi in disbelief. Indeed, in addition to the ten star chips in his duel glove, he had an extra six in his hand.

"In return, you have to battle me in the castle!" said Maiku.

Yugi was still silent.

"Just take Mai's star chips, Yugi," said Jounouchi. "Okay?"

"Yeah, she's right, Yugi!" said Ansei. "Just take them!"

"Then you'll have enough to get in the castle!" said Honda.

"I… can't accept them…" said Yugi.

"Wh-why?!" asked Jounouchi.

Maiku was silent.

"When I was fighting Kaiba," said Yugi, "I interfered with my other self, and lost. I can't do anything selfish anymore. If it was the other me… I'm sure she wouldn't take those star chips… so I won't take them…"

"I don't know what happened, Yugi," said Maiku, "but your other self is like a mass of duelist's pride. But I _owe_ you these star chips. I would have been kicked off the island if you hadn't fought that player killer to get them back for me! Never mind _your_ pride! If you don't accept these chips, how will _I_ feel? I always pay back a debt! Even if you _did_ have ten star chips, I'd still shove them in your face!"

"I still can't take them!" said Yugi.

"That's enough!" said Jounouchi, grabbing Yugi by her shoulders.

"J-Jounouchi…"

"Yugi! What about your _own_ feelings?"

"What…?"

"The other Yugi's got nothing to do with it!" said Jounouchi. "I'm talking about what _you_ want!"

"…I…"

"Why do you feel so inferior?" asked Jounouchi. "Just 'cause she's a good duelist doesn't mean you don't matter too!"

Yugi's eyes widened.

"Think about _yourself_ for once!" said Jounouchi. "What's really precious to you?!"

_Precious to me…_

"Every other word is 'duelist's pride', 'losing face,' 'win or die'… who cares?! Don't make me laugh! Isn't there something more important than that? Something you're fighting for?"

_Grandma…_ thought Yugi.

"Yugi, I'm just a newbie, but somehow I got ten star chips. It musta been a miracle…" said Jounouchi. "I was feeling happy, thinking people might call me a real duelist… but now, if all a real duelist cares about is pride, then I don't want to be like that! These supposed 'true duelists' only think of their reputation… showing off.. thinking they're so hot because they can play cards! I'd crawl through the mud if I had to, to protect something precious to me! That's 'cause before I'm a duelist, I'm Katsuki Jounouchi, and that's just the kind of person I am."

"Jounouchi…"

"She's right," said Maiku. "Pride can be a pain sometimes. Yugi, I didn't go around collecting star chips just for my pride as a duelist."

"Huh…?" asked Yugi.

"It's true that I thought that if I repaid you, I'd earn the right to fight you… but to tell you the truth, it's because I wanted to see you guys again." Smiling, he said, "After all the things I said to you, you guys told me I was your friend. That made me happy. It was the first time anybody's said something like that to me."

"Maiku…" said Ansei.

"These star chips are a token of my appreciation," said Maiku. "You'll take them now, won't you?" He stretched his hand outward.

"Yes," said Yugi. "Yes I will!"

"That's the spirit!" said Honda. "You earned ten star chips!"

"And one more thing, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "If you other self's gonna complain, bring her out now! 'Cause I'll kick her butt!"

"Don't worry!" said Yugi. "I won't let her argue!"

"All right then!" said Jounouchi. "Race you to the castle!"

With that, the six made their way to the entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I would have included the Mai vs Anzu duel from the anime. However, I read online about how Yugi accepting the star chips, _without_ anyone having to duel Mai, showed his character development better. Hence, why I went with the manga version. That, and it would make the fic longer than it already is going to be if I had them duel.


	50. Mind Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi has made it to the Duelist Kingdom finals, but she and her friends encounter none other than

Maiku made it in with no issue. Saruwatari was shocked that Yugi was, in fact, the fourth finalist, but let her in, seeing as how she did have ten star chips. Jounouchi also made it in without issue. The other three tried to enter, but Saruwatari prevented them. Jounouchi simply knocked out Saruwatari, allowing Ansei, Honda, and Bakura in.

"Everybody made it?" asked Maiku.

"Yeah! Just as we planned!" said Yugi.

"We had a plan?" asked Ansei.

"Don't worry, Ansei!" said Bakura.

With that, the six ran down the hall. _Hold on, grandma!_ thought Yugi.

The door at the end of the hallway led to a room with two balconies. The door that the six entered through led to one of these balconies. The six spotted an all-too-familiar face.

"Th-that's Bandit Kate!" said Yugi.

Kate turned to her left when she heard the voice. "What a goddamn surprise," said Kate. " _You_ guys made it into the castle…?"

"Bandit Kate, you scumbag!" said Jounouchi, glaring at Kate. "Thanks for trapping us in that cave! I'm gonna kill – "

"Keep your pants on, will ya?" said Kate. "Damn it, the show's about to start! I'll deal with you later."

"Show?" asked Jounouchi.

"Look!" said Kate.

"Oh my gosh," said Yugi. "It's a duel arena!"

Indeed, the balconies in the room overlooked a large duel arena, with two long, narrow platforms on either side. On the platform to Yugi's left was none other than Kaiba.

"You're just in time for the duel between Kaiba and Pegasus," said Kate. She chuckled.

"Indeed," said Crocketts, who had just entered the room. "My friends, the four contestants in the championship tournament, welcome to Pegasus' castle! Ah… it seems like a few uninvited guests have wandered in as well… in any case, we present to you a special match! A special welcome by Ms. Pegasus for you proud gamers who survived Duelist Kingdom…"

_Kaiba…_ thought Yugi. She hoped that Kaiba's plan would work…

Down at the arena, Kaiba stood there, awaiting the match. She reached under her shirt to clutch the pendant. _Hold on, Mokuno,_ she thought. _I'll defeat Pegasus and get you back!_ She slipped it back under her shirt in time for Pegasus to arrive.

"Welcome to my castle!" said Pegasus. "Good to see you again, Kaiba! I've been waiting for the day when I could battle a proud duelist such as yourself, right here in my own Duelist Kingdom."

Kaiba glared at Pegasus.

Pegasus chuckled. "No need to worry, Kaiba! Once our duel is safely over, I'll give back your dear little sister. Now, Kaiba! Let's enjoy a great duel!"

"Let's go, Pegasus!" said Kaiba.

_What kind of power does Pegasus have?_ wondered Yugi.

_Heh heh heh…_ thought Pegasus. _Let the Shadow Games begin!_

With that, the duelists walked up to the arena.

"Rats!" said Jounouchi. "I want 'em both to lose! Kaiba _and_ Pegasus!"

_I know I have to beat Pegasus to save Grandma…_ thought Yugi. _But… still… I don't want Kaiba to lose…_

"It looks like the official finalists have gathered in the castle," said Pegasus.

Kaiba turned her head up and to her left. "Yugi!" she said. Yugi looked down. Kaiba smirked. _I_ knew _you would be here!_ she thought. This gave her an inexplicable glee. This, too, she was surprisingly welcoming of.

_Kaiba…_ thought Pegasus. _You, too, seem destined to fight me…_ Out loud, she said, "Now, then, let's start our little game…"

"Before that, Pegasus!" said Kaiba. "Where's Mokuno?"

"Never fear, Kaiba," said Pegasus. "You'll be allowed to see her soon! Now, about the means of our duel… I have a feeling you've brought an interesting contraption with you… something called a _Duel Disk?_ "

Kaiba's brows raised, eyes widening. She had been careful about keeping the device's existence secret. The only person besides herself and Mokuno to have seen it was Yugi, who had not spoken with Pegasus since before their last duel. _Right?!_ Kaiba regained her composure. "That's right, Pegasus!" she said. "We'll fight with this disk, or I won't fight at all!"

Pegasus walked up to Kaiba, took one Duel Disk, "finagled" it onto her wrist, and walked back to her previous position. She looked at the device strangely. "Do I throw it like this?" asked Pegasus, deliberately using the wrong technique. She sighed. "It looks exhausting… I'm not very athletic… how about this, then? I'll fight you with the Duel Disk, but I'll use a proxy to wield it _for_ me."

"What?!" asked Kaiba.

"Now, now," said Pegasus. "I'll choose the cards myself! It doesn't change the fact that I'm your opponent, understand?"

"You'll use the Duel Disk and fight me one on one!" said Kaiba.

"A Duel Disk battle wouldn't be in my favor," said Pegasus. "It's the basics of gaming strategy to never fight on your enemy's terms…" _The mind games have already begun,_ thought Pegasus. Out loud, she said, "Now, as promised, I will let you see Mokuno!" Indeed, a guard walked out to the arena, alongside Mokuno.

But something was _very_ wrong. Mokuno was slouched forward, clothes scuffed and dirtied. Her expression was completely blank, with glassy eyes and not so much as a hint of life to her body language.

"Mokuno!" said Kaiba. She repeated her sister's name, to no avail.

"What's the matter with her?" asked Ansei. "She looks weird, and isn't even responding to Kaiba!"

"Pegasus!" said Kaiba. "What did you do to my sister?!"

Pegasus chuckled. She held up a card, labelled "Soul Prison." The image on the card was of Mokuno, wide-eyed and screaming, hands holding two bars. "Her _body_ can't speak to you, because I sealed her soul in this shadow card," said Pegasus.

_Sealed inside a card?!_ thought Kaiba. No... no!

"The Mokuno in front of your eyes is just a shell, but she has enough volition to obey me," continued Pegasus. "Kaiba, if you can defeat me, I'll free her soul from the card. Your sister Mokuno will be free…"

_Curse you, Pegasus!_ thought Kaiba.

"And that brings us back to our match," said Pegasus. "If you insist on challenging me with the Duel Disk," she continued, removing the device from her wrist and attaching it to Mokuno's, "I nominate Mokuno to throw the disk in my place." She chuckled.

_Is she… is she asking me to fight Mokuno…?_ thought Kaiba. Mokuno continued to stare blankly. _Grr… that's the one thing I can't do…_ It wasn't _designed_ to be used by children. Mokuno would struggle using the damn thing, and that was assuming the wrist cuff on the bottom would even fit on her arm.

"Or if you don't like that idea," said Pegasus, "we can go back to my original plan and duel my way…"

"Pegasus! I'll accept your conditions!" said Kaiba. "But it is _I_ who will win!"

With that, a table arose from the floor, along with two chairs, and the duel began.

"Look out, Kaiba!" said Yugi. "Pegasus has a Dragon Capture Jar! Against that card, even a Blue-Eyes White Dragon is powerless! Kaiba, choose your cards carefully!"

"Yugi, why are you giving Kaiba advice…?" asked Jounouchi.

"I _have_ to!" said Yugi. "Don't you know? Kaiba is fighting to get back Mokuno! She's fighting for her sister's soul! She can't lose!"

"Yugi…" murmured Jounouchi. Yugi did have a point. Mokuno did not look to be in her right mind at _all…_

_Yugi…_ thought Kaiba. _I won't forget your advice… but I'll still face her with this card! No matter what the opponent's strategy, the Blue-Eyes and I fight together!_ Having shuffled her deck, she set it on the table. _And I will defeat Pegasus!_

"Be careful, Kaiba…" said Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you know the part in this chapter where Kaiba is actually _happy_ to see Yugi? That actually happened in the manga!
> 
> Oh, and I'm also writing Pegasus' over-the-top ways as being a deliberate measure to unnerve or at least annoy other duelists, to distract them from the duel and get them to either over- or under-think their tactics. I mean, hey, if you're willing to resort to mind-reading in a card game, what's a little psychological manipulation on top?


	51. Second Duel of the Mind's Eye

With that, the duel began. The duelists shuffled each other's decks, handed them back, and drew five cards for their starting hands. They had 2000 life points.

"Well, then, I'll go first!" said Pegasus. "I play Toon Alligator in defense mode!" Toon Alligator had 800 attack points and 1600 defense points. "In addition, I will play one card facedown. That's it for me!"

_A low-level monster in defense mode… and a facedown card…_ thought Kaiba. _Is it a spell card, or a trap?_ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn!" She drew a card. _I already have one Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my starting hand… I could open up with an all-out attack. But the problem is whether she has the Dragon Capture Jar that Yugi was talking about. Could it be in her hand…?_ Out loud, she said, "I'll play a card face-down, too. And then I play Rude Kaiser! Attack the Alligator!" Rude Kaiser had 1800 attack points and 1600 defense points, easily destroying Toon Alligator.

"Oh no – !" said Pegasus, doing a deliberately over-the-top almost-faint. It was actually fairly easy to get under Kaiba's skin, if you knew what to do. This would either irritate Kaiba into making rash moves, or make her overconfident, _also_ baiting her into rash moves.

"My turn's over!" said Kaiba.

"Mm…" said Pegasus. "So your card's attack is 1800, eh… what do I do?" she said, feigning nervousness. She drew a card, and smiled brightly. "Wow! I've got it! Here's a card that can beat you! Parrot Dragon! Do your best!" Parrot Dragon had 2000 attack points and 1300 defense points.

"Before that," said Kaiba, "I activate a spell card!"

"What?!" said Pegasus, exaggerating her actually fairly subdued surprise.

"The card I played facedown was Mesmeric Control! It'll reduce your monster's attack by 800 points!" Indeed, the Parrot Dragon's attack points were now 1200, reducing Pegasus' life points to 1400 when Parrot Dragon attacked Rude Kaiser.

"Oh no…" said Pegasus.

Kaiba mentally growled. _Are you taking this fight seriously?_ she wondered.

_Heh heh,_ thought Pegasus. _I only lost 600 life points… that should be enough of a handicap… Kaiba… I can read your mind… I know all the cards in your hand…_

"It's my turn again!" said Kaiba, drawing a card. _This is just a hunch, but maybe she_ doesn't _have the Dragon Capture Jar in her hand… if so, that means it's safe for me to play –_

"Stop!" said Pegasus, interrupting Kaiba's thoughts. "Stay where you are. Don't show me that card. I'm going to activate a trap card against the card you're about to play! The card I played face-down was Prophecy! Using this card I can predict the attack points of the card you just chose. In other words, I say whether its attack value is more, less, or equal to 2000. If my hunch is right, that card is mine. I predict that it's more than 2000 attack points! I predict you're about to play the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with 3000 attack!"

_Wha – How did she…?! She can see through my hand!_ Well, she had a bad feeling about this…

"Well then, I'll just take this card for myself," said Pegasus. _Heh heh,_ she thought. _Get ready, Kaiba. The horror of fighting me has just begun…_ "I'll draw one more card and end my turn," she said out loud.

Calm down, Kaiba thought, _Even if she does play my dragon, I have a card in my hand that will make her regret she did._ Out loud, she said, "I put Rude Kaiser in defense mode and end my turn."

"My turn then," said Pegasus.

_Will she play Blue-Eyes on this turn…?_ Kaiba wondered.

_Heh heh,_ thought Pegasus. _I know exactly what you're planning. Mind Scan!_ Pegasus made direct eye contact with Kaiba for one second. In that second, she saw that Kaiba had a Virus card. She was hoping to use Rude Kaiser to bait Pegasus into using the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, activating the Saggi/Crush Card Virus combo to destroy the high-powered monsters in Pegasus' deck along with Blue-Eyes. Not a bad strategy, Pegasus had to admit. But it wouldn't work, now that Pegasus knew about it. Out loud, she said, "I'll play one card face-down, and play this card in defense mode! Dark Rabbit!" Dark Rabbit had 1100 attack points and 1500 defense points. "My turn is over!"

_She didn't play it after all,_ thought Kaiba. Out loud, she said, "Fine! It's my turn! Virus Combo! I'll sacrifice Saggi the Dark Clown to activate the virus that will destroy your deck!"

"I activate my face-down spell card!" said Pegasus. "And the card is Negative Energy! This card doubles the attack of all Dark monsters, including yours! In other words, your Clown's attack value jumps to 1200!"

This was no good for Kaiba, though. Crush Card Virus could only activate if the monster sacrificed had less than 1000 attack points.

"And that's not all," said Pegasus. "My Dark Rabbit is also a Dark monster! Its attack doubles too!" Now Dark Rabbit had 2200 attack points. "Now, Rabbit!" she said. "Murder the Dark Clown!" The attack reduced Kaiba's life points to 1000.

"Pegasus is reading Kaiba's mind!" said Yugi.

"You mean she knows what Kaiba's gonna do?" asked Jounouchi. "But then she can't bluff or… or anything!"

_It's her Millennium Item,_ thought Bakura. _The power of the Millennium Eye!_

"Yugi, how do you beat somebody like that?" asked Jounouchi.

Yugi was silent. "I don't know…" he said. "I can't think of a single weakness…"

_Curse you, Pegasus,_ thought Kaiba. _You saw through my strategy… are you reading my mind even now? I won't believe it!_ She drew a card. _None of the cards in my hand can beat the Dark Rabbit._ Out loud, she said, "I play another card in defense mode. It's your move." The card in question was Battle Ox, which had 1700 attack points and 1000 defense points.

"My turn, eh…?" Pegasus drew a card. "Say, Kaiba," she said. "Do you like cartoons?"

Kaiba glared at Pegasus. What was she going on about? Why would her opponent start small talk in the middle of a duel?

"I take it that means 'no'…" said Pegasus. "Well, not me. I love them! I remember when I was growing up, back in America, I watched Funny Rabbit every Saturday morning! All those great characters running around all over the TV! They were my best friends back then! To this day, they run around in the little garden inside my heart… they never betrayed me… and they can never die… and now, Kaiba, I'll invite you to that world."

Kaiba continued glaring. What was the point of _that_ little exposition? Even Yugi never gave away her full backstory mid-duel.

"I'm going to play Toon World!" said Pegasus. When she set the card down, a hologram of a book appeared. The book opened, with a giant, cartoonish castle popping out from the pages. The Dark Rabbit vanished. "My cards are all Toon cards," said Pegasus. "They _live_ in Toon World. If you don't see them, they must be hiding. Just wait, you'll see them soon enough. Toon Attack!"

Dark Rabbit jumped out of the book, like a jack-in-the-box. It punched Battle Ox, destroying it. It laughed, before retreating back into the book as it slammed shut.

"Well, well…" said Pegasus. "My shy little rabbit went back in the picture book again… once Toon World is closed he's out of harm's way!"

_I can't attack her…!_ Kaiba thought, gritting her teeth. Out loud, she said, "For my turn, I'll play one card face-down. I'm done."

Pegasus chuckled. "It's my turn, isn't it? Let me show you something interesting, Kaiba. This is the Blue-Eyes White Dragon I got from you… see what happens when I play it!" Indeed, when the Blue-Eyes card was placed down, in the place of the usual monster was a cartoonish version, with considerably shorter and stouter proportions and big eyes, complete with sclera.

_My Blue-Eyes is…!_

"All my monsters become residents of Toon World," said Pegasus. "What do you think? It's much more lovable than before, isn't it? Toon Attack! Rude Kaiser is blown to pieces!"

Kaiba growled.

"Hmm…" said Pegasus. "I feel anger in your heart."

"Pegasus!" said Kaiba. "It seems like you already know what cards I have, so I'm going discard my entire hand. Instead of waiting for you to _tell_ me what I'm going to play, I'm going to draw one card at a time from the top of my deck. Even I won't know what card it is. In other words, you won't know either! And I'll play the card in attack mode!" She drew a card. "Watch this! I'll bet everything on this card! The card I had faith in was my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! You say you feel my anger. Ha! I'll show you what anger really is!"

"Great job, Kaiba!" said Pegasus. "Wonderful! Drawing another Blue-Eyes… lucky!"

"Changing my proud dragon into that pathetic joke! I won't forgive you, Pegasus!" said Kaiba. "Here goes! It's my turn! Blue-Eyes, attack! Burst Stream!" They would both be destroyed, and then Kaiba wouldn't have to worry about Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon. Except… the Toon Dragon dodged? Indeed, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon stretched its body out to the side, not unlike an American cartoon, effortlessly dodging the real Blue-Eyes' attack. The Toon Dragon even had the audacity to _laugh!_ Kaiba growled. And somehow… was unsettled? The grin almost seemed _psychotic,_ in a way that none of the other Toon monsters had been...

"As a side note," said Pegasus, interrupting Kaiba's thoughts, "there were 583 episodes of Funny Rabbit… according to someone who counted, Funny Rabbit's rival, Bulldog Police, fired over 26,000 bullets at our hero. But none of them ever hit him! It's a miracle! As long as Toon World is on the board, every card I play becomes a cartoon! Nothing can hurt or kill a toon. They are the perfect life forms!"

Kaiba mentally growled.

"Dammit! That lousy Pegasus!" said Jounouchi. "What kind of game designer is she?! That card's totally overpowered!

_Damn Pegasus,_ thought Kate. _Nobody stands a chance against that card…_

"Well, then, it's my turn!" said Pegasus. Kaiba glowered at her. _Heh heh… Kaiba, you realized I could see through your eyes, so you abandoned your hand… you thought that I couldn't predict your moves if you drew your cards straight from the deck, but that won't save you. Don't underestimate my Mind Scan. When players assemble their decks, they memorize every card, even if it's only subconsciously! In other words, I know every card in your deck! You can draw any card you want, but I have countermoves prepared against them all! The story of your defeat is written in Toon World. Or should I say drawn…?_ Out loud, she said, "I'll play this card on the board! Toon World, let's tell a new story! Shine Palace!"

The book opened to a different page, showing a different castle. "Toon World is infinite!" said Pegasus. "The book is merely a gateway to that plane of existence! And now, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, a monster of light, receives the shining energy and powers up!" Indeed, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon now had 3500 attack points. "Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, attack! Burst Stream!"

"I activate the trap card I played face-down!" said Kaiba. "Negate Attack!" A portal appeared, absorbing the laser, leaving both non-Toon dragon and duelist unharmed.

_Of course, I knew you had that card in your deck,_ thought Pegasus. _Negate Attack is a one-time-use trap card! You can't avoid the Toon Dragon's attack on your next turn!_

"It's my turn!" said Kaiba. _If that happens again,_ thought Kaiba, _the Toon Dragon will kill my Blue-Eyes… if that happens, it's all over! I'll stake my fate and Mokuno's on this card!_ She drew the card. "Shadow Spell!" she said. It was the one card that could defeat the Toon Dragon. Chains appeared around the Toon Dragon, reducing its attack points to 2800. Furthermore, it could not attack or change battle positions. "Even your stupid, rubbery dragon can't squirm out of the shadow chains!" said Kaiba. "Prepare yourself! Burst Stream!" The Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon was destroyed, leaving Pegasus with 1200 life points.

"You have a sharp mind, Kaiba," said Pegasus. "As a game designer, that is the greatest compliment. It's my turn." She drew a card. "I activate the Dragon Capture Jar!" Indeed, a hologram of a jar appeared, sucking in Blue-Eyes. "The jar gains the defense points of the dragon it absorbs," said Pegasus. Indeed, Dragon Capture Jar now had 2700 attack points.

_Pegasus, are you going to turn my Blue-Eyes into your pawn once more?_ wondered Kaiba. The very thought angered her, somehow more than if it were any other card. Out loud, she said, "It's my turn!" She drew a card. Swordstalker. 2000 attack points and 1600 defense points. Not enough. She set it in defense position.

"My turn again," said Pegasus. "I'll play this card face-down on the board. On top of that, I'll play this monster! The Dragon Piper! In defense mode!" The Dragon Piper had 200 attack points and 1800 defense points.

_The Dragon Capture Jar and the Dragon Piper… is she going to release the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and turn it into one of her servants?_ wondered Kaiba.

"Exactly," said Pegasus. "On my next turn, the Dragon Piper's Flute of Rebirth will bring back your dragon as my monster. Once again it will become, as you put it, a 'pathetic' toon!"

"I'll never let that happen!" said Kaiba. "I'll crush your measly Dragon Piper first! Attack, Swordstalker!" The Swordstalker easily destroyed the Dragon Piper. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

_Just as I predicted,_ thought Pegasus. Out loud, she said, "I play the spell card Doppelganger! This card can change itself into any card you played in the whole game… and the card it's going to copy is your Crush Card Virus! I infect Dragon Piper with the virus!" Indeed, when Swordstalker attacked the Dragon Piper, it, along with Blue-Eyes White Dragon and all her other cards with greater than 1500 attack points, vanished.

"And so it begins!" said Pegasus. "Prepare to die by your own card!" When the holographic smoke indicating the destruction of cards had died down, Pegasus noted that Kaiba's deck had been made almost entirely of monsters with high attack points. Now, Kaiba had nothing to attack with.

Kaiba drew a card. Monster Reborn. "I bring back this monster with this card," said Kaiba. The monster that had been summoned was Saggi the Dark Clown, in attack mode.

"You have the courage to play out the game to the bitter end," said Pegasus. "Very good. If I defeat that card on my next turn, all of your cards are gone and I win…"

_Mokuno,_ thought Kaiba, bitterly remembering her vacant expression. _Forgive me… I couldn't save you…_

"And now I strike," said Pegasus, attacking with Bickuribox, a monster whose stats Kaiba couldn't be bothered to recall.

"Goodbye, Yugi," said Kaiba.

Yugi called Kaiba's name, to no avail.

"Kaiba, you're a smart one," said Pegasus. "You know what stakes I play for, don't you? In this game, losers lose _everything._ What is most precious to them, and even more, they lose their own _souls._ It truly is win or die. Penalty game! Mind Card!"

A beam of energy shot out from the card towards Kaiba. Her vision went dark.

"Kaiba! No!" said Yugi.

_That's it, Kaiba,_ thought Pegasus. _Now you'll walk in darkness for all eternity…_ Indeed, Kaiba was slumped forward in her chair, eyes turned glassy. _You poor, lost siblings,_ thought Pegasus. _Though your cards are so close, the distance between you may as well be infinite. If only you had truly died, you could have enjoyed a reunion. Heh heh…_ Out loud, she told the security guard to remove the body.

"N-now Kaiba's in a card too…" said Jounouchi. 

"Kaiba…" said Yugi. "Kaiba risked her life to duel… to get Mokuno back…" _She wanted to save someone close to her… just like me and Jounouchi… she was no different from us! Pegasus… you don't have the right to take away what's precious to us! I won't forgive you! I'll_ never _forgive you!_

Pegasus stood up. No one alive could beat her at cards. Even if Yugi had the power of the Millennium Puzzle, it would be powerless against her Millennium Eye… 

The other Yugi took over. "Pegasus!" she said. "I won't forgive you for this! I promise I'll defeat you!" 

"Whoa! Yugi!" said Jounouchi. 

"Ah, Yugi," said Pegasus. "I'm so glad you care, but you'll have to win the championship tournament to earn the right to fight me!" 

"I know that!" said the other Yugi. "But get ready! I won't be satisfied until I _destroy_ you!" 

Pegasus chuckled. "The finals are tomorrow morning!" she said. "Out of four duelists, only one of you will have the glory of facing me in battle!" 

"Duelists!" said a security guard. "To enter the finals with Pegasus, you will need the special cards which were sent with your original invitation! Even if you are the winner, those without cards will be disqualified! Is that clear?" 

The other Yugi searched her jacket pockets, finding the two cards in question, Honor of the King's Right and Honor of the King's Left. 

"Oh, crap!" said Jounouchi. "Not those!" Yugi might have been able to split the star chips between them, but neither had realized that the _cards themselves_ were going to be required to participate! 

_I didn't know they gave out anything like that!_ thought Kate. _Shit… this isn't good. I snuck my way in, I don't have those damn cards! I better find a way to get my hands on one…_

"Well, then, my fair duelists," said Pegasus. "I'll see you tomorrow back here!" 

"All right," said Maiku. "From now on, we're enemies! The time for friends is over!" He started to make his way to his room. "Yugi, Jounouchi, good luck!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a slight but significant grammatical change to one of Pegasus' sentences. In the original manga, Pegasus said, "When I was growing up in America, I watched Funny Rabbit every Saturday morning!" as opposed to "When I was growing up **,** in America, I watched Funny Rabbit every Saturday morning!" Note the second comma. However, the particular _way_ that Pegasus is obsessed with American cartoons is more reminiscent of the way a person _not_ from America would be. Yet, he is canonically American. To reconcile these two details, I decided to change Pegasus' backstory slightly, so that she is Japanese-American, spending significant parts of her childhood in both America and Japan.
> 
> Oh, and have you noticed? I've tried including some subtle fourth-wall jokes throughout the fic.
> 
> Another thing I'm doing is trying to foreshadow male!Kisara's existence more. One of these things is including details to make Blue-Eyes White Dragon seem more "human" than other monsters, like with Dark Magician and, later on, Dark Magician Boy.


	52. False Hospitality

Night of the second day. 24 hours remain.

The other Yugi looked down at her cards. _The King's left hand… what is it? Why doesn't it have text or a picture?_ She then realized something. _Four players enter the semifinals. The player who wins will get two "honors" in their right and left hand… maybe one honor is the prize money… and the other is the right to fight Pegasus._ She remembered having noticed a card in Pegasus' hand when Kaiba lost her soul. And Pegasus had mentioned that Mokuno had lost hers, and holding up an otherwise-identical card, saying that it was sealed in a card… _The winner will challenge Pegasus with this card, but if they lose, their soul will be sealed in this card instead! And in the end, Pegasus will hold both these cards in her hands! She's going to trap the loser's soul in the card as a mark of her status as Queen of Games!_

Out loud, she said, "Jounouchi! We have to make it to the final round!"

"Y-yeah!" said Jounouchi. "But there's a problem… I don't have the cards…"

"Jounouchi," said the other Yugi, "when we arrived on the island, we split one person's star chips between us, right?" She held up Honor of the King's Right. "Then this card belongs to you too! If we advance to the championship round, you take the prize! Take it for Shizu!"

_Yugi!_ thought Jounouchi, smiling, as she accepted the card.

"And I'll take this card," continued the other Yugi, holding up Honor of the King's Left, "and beat Pegasus to get Grandma back!"

Jounouchi was briefly silent. "Yugi… what if we're matched up in the first round?"

"Then we'll just have to fight!" said the other Yugi.

"Yugi," said Bakura, "do you have a plan to counteract Pegasus' Mind Scan?"

"No," admitted the other Yugi. "Her Millennium Eye is troublesome. I don't have a perfect solution. But just the same, I will crush Pegasus!"

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "That's the spirit!"

"Excuse me," said Crockets. "If you all could follow me, a dinner party has been arranged. Please step this way."

"About time!" said Jounouchi. "I'm starved!"

With that, the five followed Crocketts. "Please take a seat," he said when they made it to the dining room.

And it was indeed quite a dining room! The table was absolutely enormous, with seven seats, one on the end closest to the door and three on either side. The other side of the room had a large painting. There was lots of food, most of which the five did not recognize. High up on the walls, above the doorway they had entered from, was a pair of paintings.

"Oh, hey guys!" said Maiku, who was seated at the chair on the left closest to the door.

"Wow!" said Jounouchi. "That's a nice spread!" If she wasn't hungry before, she _definitely_ was now.

"This is the first time they've fed us properly!" complained Ansei. What was the deal behind making all non-finalists fend for themselves without so much as a _warning?_

Just then, the other Yugi noticed something. She stopped walking for a second. Ansei looked at her, confused. "What's wrong, Yugi?" he asked. He followed the other Yugi's gaze. Just then he noticed was wrong. "That portrait…!" he said.

_Shadi!_ thought the other Yugi. Before them was a painting of the woman they had met so long ago.

"Whoa! Hold on!" said Jounouchi, who had noticed the discrepancy as well. "What's a painting of Shadi doing here?!"

Bakura was briefly silent. "Shadi?" she asked. "Who's that? She looks Egyptian…" Indeed, her flowing linen robes and style of eyeliner both suggested Egyptian origin.

"She possesses two Millennium Items, as well…" said the other Yugi.

"Do you see that ankh around her neck?" asked Ansei. "It's a key! The Millennium Key! It has the power to go inside somebody's mind and control them! She also has the Millennium Scales, which allow her to judge a person's soul…"

_The Millennium Key… and the Millennium Scale…_ thought Bakura. This thought seemed darker in tone from her usual thoughts, for some reason. Could it be…?

"Just thinking about that night gives me chills," said Ansei. "I almost died because of that woman!"

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "She took over Ansei's mind! This woman wanted to know the secret of Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, too, just like the spirit of your Millennium Ring, Bakura, if you don't mind me saying…"

"Oh, the ring?" asked Bakura. "You don't have to worry about it… I won't let it take over my mind anymore…" She pushed down a nagging feeling that this wouldn't always be possible… "Yugi, this proves what I thought before!" she said, directing the subject away from the Ring in particular. "The secrets of the Millennium Items are hidden on this island! Pegasus knows what's going on!"

"It _does_ seem that way," said the other Yugi. "It's certain Pegasus' Millennium Eye has something to do with Shadi!" _And with my Millennium Puzzle…! But the Millennium Puzzle wasn't the reason why Pegasus called me to this island… she wants to defeat me and Kaiba, and take control of Kaiba Corporation! And she's already halfway there…_

"Hey," said Ansei, interrupting the other Yugi's thoughts. "Who's that man? The portrait next to the one that looks so much like Shadi…" The other Yugi looked up. Indeed, there was a portrait of a man. He had shoulder-length blond hair, and wore an elegant, frilly lavender suit.

_What do these two portraits mean…?_ wondered the other Yugi.

"These portraits were painted by Ms. Pegasus herself," said Crocketts. "But don't expect her to tell you anything about them. She doesn't like to discuss them. Now, please, that's enough art appreciation. The soup will get cold."

"Oh! That's right!" said Jounouchi.

"Hurry up and sit down, you guys!" said Maiku. "I've been waiting for you to show up before I start eating!"

"Oops! My bad!" said Jounouchi.

"Those of you who are in the semifinals, please sit here," said Crocketts, indicating a pair of seats. The other Yugi and Jounouchi sat down. "There should be one more…" he continued. "Looks like Ms. Howard hasn't arrived yet… oh, well, then. On behalf of Ms. Pegasus, I'm so glad you could all make it! Let's all celebrate the semifinals tomorrow!"

"All right, let's eat!" said Jounouchi.

With that, the six began eating. However, Honda seemed contemplative.

"Eh?" asked Jounouchi, who had taken note of her friend's change in demeanor. "What is it, Honda…?"

"Yugi," said Honda. "I want to ask you… can you save the Kaiba sisters?"

The other Yugi and Anzu looked up. "Honda…?" asked Ansei. This was a rather unusual request. Jounouchi was especially surprised.

"I know if you think about the things they did to us at Death-T, it's sickening," she admitted. "But still! I owe Mokuno! That kid saved my life at Death-T!"

_Honda…idea_ of having anything in common with that jerk.

"I… don't know about this 'Death-T,' or what Kaiba's done to you guys…" said Bakura. "I never met Kaiba before this island. It's true, she does seem arrogant and selfish, and very distant, but if she risked her life to save her sister, I can't believe she's _all_ bad…"

"Bakura!" said Jounouchi. "You don't know what she's really like!" So what if she had some sob story about her sister? That didn't excuse anything!

"I'm sorry…" said Bakura.

"Mokuno and Kaiba had their souls sealed inside Pegasus' cards… if that seal can be broken, there's a chance," said the other Yugi.

"Yugi!" said Honda, smiling.

"But I can only help with the cards," continued the other Yugi. "If their soulless bodies are confined somewhere, it might be harder to set them free…"

_I'll take care of that,_ Yugi! thought Honda. _You just take care of saving their souls!_

_Kaiba…_ thought the other Yugi. _You might be my enemy forever, but I promise to save you and your sister!_

"Hmph, sheesh, do whatever you want!" said Jounouchi, as she ate her soup. Just then, she saw something in the soup. "Agh! What the heck is this?!" she yelled. "It's an eyeball!"

"Glrff! It's in my soup, too!" yelled Maiku, who had the bad luck of having had the eye in his soup end up in his mouth.

The other Yugi, upon scooping up the eye in her soup, had a much calmer reaction, merely looking at it in surprise. None of them were actual human eyeballs, but rather golden-colored spheres with wdjats on each of them.

"It's showtime!" said Pegasus, whose face was on the screen, which the six had mistaken for a painting. "Hello, everybody! How do you like my favorite soup?"

"Thanks for the meal, jerk!" complained Jounouchi, holding the sphere in her hand. "I knew it was poison! They always say it's not poison!"

"Oh, _that!_ " said Pegasus, smiling dissonantly. "That's part of tonight's dish! The heart-pounding tournament entrée bingo game!"

"Tournament bingo?!" asked Maiku.

"What's that?" asked Jounouchi.

"All the participants in the championship tournament should have been given a replica Millennium Eye! I see one of you isn't there… but oh well…"

"A what? Replica Millennium Eye…?" asked Jounouchi. This was incredibly odd.

"Now!" said Pegasus. "Crack that eye open!"

Jounouchi tried the pull the eye apart at various points, before finally pulling it apart. "A piece of paper with a 'D' written on it!" she said.

"Mine says B!" said Maiku.

_"A"…_ thought the other Yugi.

"Now then, time to announce the order of play!" said Pegasus. The screen changed to a tournament bracket chart. At the bottom, it showed the letters in alphabetical order.

"I get to fight Bandit Kate!" said Jounouchi. It would be great to get back at that jerk for everything she did!

"I play Yugi in the first round!" said Maiku. Excellent. Exactly what he wanted.

The other Yugi remained stoic.

"That's it!" said Pegasus. "The soup never lies! I look forward to the semifinals! See you tomorrow!" With that, the screen reverted to its former disguise as a painting.

"It's time to call it a night," said Crocketts. "We will now show you to your rooms!"

"We only get _soup_ for dinner?!" asked Jounouchi. And after going all day without eating! Pegasus really _was_ a jerk…

"Yugi…" said Bakura. "That replica Millennium Eye… can I have it?" The other Yugi handed it over.

"Hey, Yugi!" said Maiku. "Let's have a fair fight tomorrow!"

"Yes!" said the other Yugi, smiling.

"Later, guys!" said Maiku.

"All right, we should get some sleep, too!" said Jounouchi.

With that, the five followed Crocketts to their rooms. Unbeknownst to any of them, Bandit Kate was watching them.

"Good night, guys," said Bakura upon being directed to her room. Honda's room was next to hers.

"Good night," said Ansei.

"Guess this is my room," said Jounouchi, referring to the room across from Honda's. "Yugi, let's do it! Let's get those honors!"

"Yes!" said the other Yugi, smiling.

"See ya!" said Jounouchi.

"'Night, Jounouchi!" said Ansei. He then went to the room next to Jounouchi's. "Yugi," he said, "please win tomorrow…"

"Yes!" said the other Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! [Title Drop](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TitleDrop)! Of the [Bilingual Bonus](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BilingualBonus) variety!


	53. In the Dead of Night

It was midnight. The sun had long since set, and the halls were dark. Honda was awake. She had left her trenchcoat in her room. _Mokuno and Kaiba must be held prisoner somewhere in the castle,_ she thought. _I'm going to save them!_

Honda, however, was not the only one awake. After her host had fallen asleep, the other Bakura had taken over, and was also walking about the castle. She was in the dining room, staring up at the painting of Shadi. _I never expected to see_ her _face here,_ she thought. _I thought she died years ago._

The other Yugi was also awake. She was standing on the balcony of her room, staring off into the horizon, lit by the full moon. _Just one more step, and I'll be within a hair's breadth of Pegasus, and in range of her Millennium Eye,_ she thought, looking at her deck. _I don't have any way to overcome her Mind Scan… but I'll trust my cards!_ "Trusting her cards" being a figure of speech, of course, meaning to believe in oneself as a duelist. _And I will defeat Pegasus! I'll save you, Grandma!_ She went back to bed, trying to go back to sleep.

2:00 AM. _The Kaiba sisters must be hidden somewhere in this castle,_ Honda thought. _I'll rescue them somehow!_ She darted down the hall, her eyes adjusted to the dark.

There was, unfortunately, a fourth person awake. _What's_ she _doing…?_ wondered Kate. _Isn't she with Yugi? Why is she running around the castle this late at night? Not that I'm one to talk…_

Honda pressed her back to a wall when she was near a corner. When she made it to the corner, she turned her head, so as to see what was ahead without getting spotted herself. Two security guards. _Crap,_ she thought. _Guards… they're guarding those stairs going down… that might be the place!_

"Huh?!" said one guard.

"Who's there?!" asked another.

_Shit,_ she thought. _They saw me!_ Except… they hadn't?

"What do you think you're doing here?" the guard asked Bakura.

"Oh, um, well, I… I was looking for the bathroom," she said.

"Use the one in your room!" said one of the guards.

"Oh yes! Of course!" said Bakura. "Sorry…"

"Now get outta here!" said the other guard.

"Good night…" said Bakura.

_Bakura?! What's_ she _doing up this late?!_ wondered Honda. She never seemed the type to wander around late at night…

_What was I doing?_ wondered Bakura herself. She started to make her way back to her room, but when she walked to the corner, she felt a hand slam over her mouth.

"Shh!" Honda whisper-shouted. "Be quiet, Bakura!"

"Honda?!" Bakura whispered back, blushing faintly. Nonetheless, she kept quiet, and Honda removed her hand from Bakura's mouth. "What are you doing here, Honda?"

"Stupid! I should be asking you that!" Honda whispered.

"You came to rescue Kaiba?" Bakura asked.

"Yeah," admitted Honda.

"Want me to go with you?" asked Bakura.

"No! I'll be okay!" Honda, still trying to keep her volume down. "But if you want, can you do me a favor? Distract those guards for me again! You look harmless, so it should be fine…"

Bakura nodded. Honda snuck carefully out of sight.

"Hello?" asked Bakura. "Is anybody there?"

"What?! You again?" asked one of the guards.

"I forgot where my room was…" said Bakura.

"It's that way!" said the guard.

"I'm sorry…" said Bakura.

While the guards were distracted, Honda made her way down the stairwell, careful to keep quiet the whole way. When she was all the way down, she noticed cells. She walked over to the first one she saw. She was alarmed by the sight.

_Mokuno!_ she thought. Indeed, Mokuno sat down in the cell, slumped down. Her expression was vacant, and her clothes scuffed up. "Mokuno!" she said, just loud enough to hypothetically be heard. "Wake up!" But Mokuno did not respond. _Crap,_ she thought. _I don't think I can open this without a key._ Just then, she heard a gun cocking behind her head.

"I don't remember inviting a rat down here," said a security guard.

Honda gulped.

Meanwhile, Bandit Kate stalked the halls.

_I'm pretty sure that's Jounouchi's room,_ she thought. _I need two cards to participate in the championship tournament… without that, I can't win the prize money._ She opened the door to Jounouchi's room.

Jounouchi was in her room, fast asleep.

_Now where's that card…?_ wondered Kate. She spotted Jounouchi's coat hanging off a coat rack. She searched the pockets of the jacket. _Here it is!_ she thought. Just then, she heard something.

"I said I'd beat you, you jerk!" said Jounouchi.

Kate nearly had a heart attack. She turned around.

Jounouchi was asleep. Jounouchi was _effing_ asleep! _Dammit! Talking in her sleep?!_ she thought, gritting her teeth. _That dumbass! Could she be any louder?!_ She calmed down. _I'm done here… better get out._ With that, she left the room. Then, she heard something else.

"Jounouchi?" asked Yugi.

Kate stood completely still, cold sweat on her face.

"I thought I heard voices," continued Yugi. "Are you okay?"

"Y… yeah, I'm fine…" said Kate, in a terrible impression of Jounouchi. _Shit! Shit!_

"Okay…" said Yugi. "Well, good night…" She closed the door.

_Phew… that was close…_ thought Kate. She had better not have any more screwups. Nothing else could possibly go wrong… right?

More things did, in fact, go wrong.

"That wasn't Jounouchi's voice!" said Yugi, who had slammed her door open.

Kate mentally growled. This was not her day! Or night, as it were.

"You're Bandit Kate!" said Yugi. "What're you doing in front of Jounouchi's room?!"

"Goddamnit, shut up!" said Kate. "Go back to sleep!" She punched Yugi into the wall.

Yugi slid down the door, letting out an "Ugh" when she landed.

"W-wait… shit… you're still standing?" asked Kate. "If you don't go back to bed, I'll beat you so bad you won't be able to duel tomorrow! You little shit!" _This'll shut you up,_ she thought, pulling her fist back in preparation to punch her. Just then, she felt pressure around her wrist.

"Jounouchi…" said Yugi.

"Damn it! Jounouchi?!" This was _definitely_ not her day, _or_ her night!

"Why you…" said Jounouchi, glaring at Kate. "You think you can hit my friend?" She had woken up when she heard Kate yelling at Yugi, and heard a loud thud.

"Heh…" Kate made a move to punch Jounouchi, who dodged. In turn, Jounouchi punched Kate in the gut.

Kate made small sounds of pain, crumpling to the floor.

"Hey, Kate," said Jounouchi. "You might be pretty good at cards, but when it comes to fighting, I'm pretty good, too. But I won't use my fists further here! I'm gonna save this hand to draw the cards that'll beat you tomorrow!"

_Stupid!_ thought Kate. _I got your honor card! Now you can't enter the tournament! I won without even playing!_

Jounouchi walked over to Yugi. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah…" said Yugi, even though she was clearly in pain.

"Yugi, Jounouchi…" said Ansei, who had left his room. "What's going on?"

"Ansei! Do you have a first aid kit?" asked Jounouchi. "We need to take care of Yugi's face!"

"Jounouchi, what was Kate doing in front of your room?" asked Yugi.

"I dunno," she said. "She was probably half-asleep and went to the wrong place…"

3:20 AM. Ansei was dabbing at Yugi's face with a cloth. "It's okay, Ansei," said Yugi.

"C'mon, turn this way," he said. She did just that. Yugi made small sounds of pain as Ansei dabbed at her face.

"All righty," said Jounouchi. "I'm hittin' the hay…."

"Okay," said Yugi.

"Good night, Jounouchi," said Ansei. He finished cleaning Yugi's wounds. "All done!" he said.

"Thanks Ansei…" said Yugi. "I'm embarrassed," she admitted. "I'm always being helped by everybody. By Jounouchi, by you… and even the other me." Ansei looked at her, brows raised. "Ansei…" she said. "You told me the other night that I'm fine the way I am. But I can't stay this way. The way I am, I can't protect you, or _anybody…_ "

_Yugi…?_ thought Ansei. _What brought this on…?_

"Someday I'm going to be stronger," she said. "Strong enough not to lose to the other me!"

Ansei was silent. He smiled, nodding at Yugi. She had grown stronger over this past year, ever since solving the Millennium Puzzle. Even her face had lost some of its roundness, and was it just him or had she become a bit taller?

4:30 AM. "Arrgh!" said Honda. "How pathetic!" She had been locked inside the cell for who knows how long at an ungodly hour of the night. Suddenly, the guard fell down. "Huh?" Bakura was now in front of her cell.

"Need a hand…?" she asked. She chuckled, in a somewhat menacing way.

_Bakura…? Is it you…?_ No, it probably wasn't. She recognized the laughter, the "H-heh heh heh" that accompanied the _last_ change in Bakura's personality. This was probably the _other_ Bakura. But she didn't have much choice. It was either let this potentially-dangerous Bakura help her, or quite possibly die of starvation and/or dehydration. The other Bakura unlocked the cell, and the two made it to Honda's room.

Honda was suspicious the whole time, but this other Bakura didn't seem to pose any threat yet, so she would give her the benefit of the doubt, but still keep her guard up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose to rework the whole "heart of the cards" thing into a figure of speech rather than a literal thing that exists. Even in the context of the series, "trusting one's cards" or "the heart of the cards" sounds ridiculous, given that the only cards in DM implied to have anything supernatural going on with them are Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the Seal of Orichalcos, Timaeus, Hermos, and Critias. None of which have anything related to that concept.
> 
> And yes, I did use "eff" instead of "fuck," even though I used the latter a few chapters ago. This is for a couple of reasons. First, I'm trying to keep the swearing fairly mild, with no more than one or two strong swears. Second, there was already two curse words in the paragraph. I didn't want to have [too many swear words too close to each other.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ClusterFBomb) More so to keep in a similar tone to the manga than anything else. And yes, the Viz translation of the manga has swears, albeit censored with a bunch of symbols.
> 
> Also, I'm going for a bit of a [literal character growth](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VisualDevelopment) thing with Yugi. A bit like Fullmetal Alchemist, where over the course of the series, Edward grows taller as his character changes. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX actually did a similar thing with Judai! He starts off with a round face, with big eyes, and by the end of each season, it's become less and less round, to the point that in the final season, he has sharper-looking eyes and a more angular face.


	54. Semifinals Begin

Dawn of the third day. Twelve hours remain.

Yugi woke up. She picked up the camera her grandmother was in.

"Watch me, Grandma!" said Yugi. "I'll defeat Pegasus and put you back in your body!"

"Yugi, my girl," said Sugako. "There are three kinds of people upon whom fortune never smiles: Cheaters who will do anything to win, cowards who fear defeat, and the arrogant drowning in their own powers. Cheaters are always caught in the end, and the cowardly and arrogant dig their own graves. Yugi, a true duelist never loses their confidence and their honor! But sometimes, self-esteem becomes pride! And then a duelist digs their own grave!

Yugi was silent.

"Yugi, you don't know this," said Sugako, "but I think you balance your other self's heart…"

"What?" asked Yugi.

"When the other you becomes overconfident in her abilities, and loses her true heart, her sense of justice, that is when _you_ must help, Yugi. That is when your heart is needed! Do you see?"

"Yup!" said Yugi.

Just then, the door to the room opened.

"Hey Yugi!" said Jounouchi, who was in the doorway alongside Ansei. "You up yet?"

"Good morning, guys!" said Yugi.

"Well, Yugi," said Ansei, "today's the day!"

Yugi nodded.

"Are you ready, man?" asked Jounouchi. "Let's go to the arena!"

The other Yugi took over. "All right!" she said. "Let's go!"

With that, the three walked down the hall. Just then, Ansei noticed something off.

"Where's Honda and Bakura?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're not in their rooms," said Jounouchi. "Where'd they go…?"

_Maybe they went to rescue Kaiba and Mokuno,_ thought the other Yugi. _But even if they find their bodies, defeating Pegasus is the only way to get their souls back… and that's my job!_

With that, the three were now in front of a doorway. Crocketts stood before them.

"Duelists of the Duelist Kingdom semifinals, we have been waiting for you!" he said. "Please enter the duel room!"

With that, the three entered the room. They were at the bottom of the room where they had seen Kaiba and Pegasus duel. From this view, it was clear that the arena was on a platform that moved down so duelists on the floor could get into it and lifted up for the access of duelists on the next floor up and the viewing of the duel by spectators. Maiku was standing near the arena, since he and the other Yugi would be dueling first, and Bandit Kate was leaning against a wall to their left to watch.

Maiku chuckled. "Good morning," he said. "So, Yugi! The time to decide who's the strongest on this island has come!"

Kate laughed, a mocking "haw haw." "Hey 'Josie'… if you can make it to the duel arena, I'm gonna pay you back for last night!"

"Whatever, Kate!" said Jounouchi. "I don't care if you used to be the U.S. Champion! I'm gonna give you the card smackdown!"

_Heh heh heh…_ thought Kate. _Seems like she hasn't realized yet… she doesn't have the card that she needs before she can even play! She's already lost!_ Winning without fighting, the epitome of martial excellence.

"Welcome, proud duelists!" said Pegasus. "Welcome to this holy place sanctified by our duels!"

_Pegasus, you fiend!_ thought the other Yugi.

"The semifinals will begin now!" continued Pegasus.

With that, the four duelists approached the arena.

"The one who survives the tournament will be given the prize of champions!" said Pegasus. "Let me give you a preview!"

A pair of security guards walked in with an elaborate chest. They set it down, then opened the lid.

"A prize of two hundred thousand dollars!" said Pegasus.

"T-two hundred thousand dollars!" said Jounouchi. _Wait, how much is that in yen…?_ She calculated that in her head. _With that much money, I can save Shizu!_ she thought.

_Heh heh…_ thought Kate. _Could be worse!_ She had certainly fought dirtier for far less.

_It's going to be all mine!_ thought Maiku.

"Hold on!" said one of the security guards. "You don't get the prize money just by beating the other three duelists! You also have to beat Ms. Pegasus, the ruler of Duelist Kingdom!"

Pegasus chuckled. "I wonder who will defeat me? I'm looking forward to it!" Not that anyone could, of course. Everyone in this room was a thousand years too early to even have a _chance._

"The first round's fight is Yugi Mutou versus Maiku Jaku!" said Crocketts. "Before we begin, please show me your cards proving your right to duel." The duelists in question did exactly that.

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "You better win!"

Yugi and Maiku sat down at the arena.

"Yugi, it was my dream to fight you on this island and win," said Maiku. _Now the question is, will that dream come true?_ he thought. _You are an ideal duelist… my whole career has been leading to this fight…_ But he noticed something. _You look so impatient,_ he thought. _So fighting me is just an irritation, eh…? Yugi's not even looking at me! Seems like your body is in the present but your mind is in the future… heh heh… if that's how you feel, you can't beat me! This game isn't so easy that you can win without focusing on your opponent!_ Out loud, he asked, "Are you ready, Yugi?"

"Yeah!" said the other Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I had Jounouchi ask Yugi "Are you ready, **man?** ", even though Yugi's a girl in this version. That's because, back in the 1990s (source, my mom, who was a teenager in the nineties), words like "dude" and "man" in casual contexts like that was used gender-neutrally. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, only that that was the way it was back then. As you can tell, I'm trying to keep language and references, with the exception of things that can be subtly blended into the dialogue, to things that would have existed in the mid-to-late nineties.
> 
> And as for Kate mockingly calling Jounouchi "Josie," that's an adaptation of the same scene in the manga, where Keith called Jounouchi "Joey," which, aside from being a mockery of his name, seems to also be a dub reference, as with things like his pet being named "Joe," or his Monster World character being called "Joey."


	55. Hoist By Their Own Petard

With that, the duel began. Yugi and Maiku had 2000 life points. The two had shuffled each other's decks.

_Heh,_ thought the other Yugi. _Maiku, you're no match for me…_

_Yugi, you might be able to see me, but there's something you can't see! You cannot beat me!_ thought Maiku. Out loud, he said, "I go first! Harpy Lady!" Harpy Lady had 1300 attack points and 1400 defense points.

_As usual, the Harpy Lady,_ thought the other Yugi. _It looks like he's using the same deck as before, focused on powering up that one card…_

"I'm not done yet!" said Maiku. "I'm playing another card this turn!" He set a card face-down.

_A facedown card…? Probably not anything major,_ thought the other Yugi. _I have Gaia, one of my best cards, in my hand!_ Gaia had 2300 attack points and 2100 defense points. _I can beat his Harpy Lady in one blow!_ Out loud, she said, "My card is Gaia the Fierce Knight! Attack Harpy Lady!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Maiku chuckled. "I played a trap card!" he said. "Mirror Wall!" Mirror Wall deflected all of the opponent's attacks until it was removed from the field. Gaia charged at the reflective wall, damaging himself in the process. Furthermore, Gaia's attack points were cut in half, resulting in it having 1150 attack points. "Now it's my turn," Maiku said. "I play a spell card on my Harpy! Cyber Shield!" The card in question boosted Harpy Lady's attack points by 500, resulting in it having 1800 attack points. "So much for Gaia the so-called Fierce Knight!" Harpy Lady attacked Gaia, reducing the other Yugi's life points to 1350.

Well, this sucked.

"So, you fell into my trap…" said Maiku. "Well, Yugi, looks like you underestimated me!"

_Hmph… this man…!_ thought the other Yugi, irritated.

"It's your turn!" said Maiku.

The other Yugi drew a card. Summoned Skull. Excellent. It had 2500 attack points and 1200 defense points. Harpy Lady stood no chance. Right…? "I'll play one card face-down, and then this! Rise, Skull Demon!" Without thinking, the other Yugi said, "Attack the Harpy!"

"Mirror Wall activates again," said Maiku. Once more, Summoned Skull attacked the reflective wall, reducing its attack points to 1250. Crap. A continuous trap card. "As long as this card is on the field, the wall will appear over and over, every time you declare an attack!"

_All my monsters are as good as useless!_ thought the other Yugi.

"Hey, Yugi, what's the matter?" asked Jounouchi. "Something's wrong! Look at how she's playing! She's playing too fast and attacking without thinking! It's not like her to fall for the same trap twice!"

_Yugi…_ thought Ansei. _You're fighting so impatiently…_

"Huh, this is a letdown…" said Maiku. "So this is the skill level of the great Yugi Mutou I've wanted to fight for so long? From the moment you sat down to duel, I could see you being crushed by an invisible pressure."

_Invisible pressure?_ wondered the other Yugi.

"When true duelists face each other, they can feel the aura of battle!" said Maiku. "But all I felt from you was irritation! You're thinking about fighting Pegasus, aren't you?"

The other Yugi was stunned into silence.

"So I'm not even worth your full attention, huh?" asked Maiku. "You're just an arrogant girl. You thought you had beat me before the duel even _started…_ you're distracted by the thought of Pegasus watching us! Your mind's running in circles, thinking of her! You're thinking of the future when you should be here and now!"

The other Yugi remained silent. Maiku had cut to the core of the issue, though she was loathe to admit it. She growled. "Say what you want after you beat me!" she said. "Let's get on with the duel!"

"So now you're trying to intimidate me…" said Maiku. "Let me tell you something. Aggressive people are weak. All that anger is just a bluff to hide their weakness, but in the end, all it does is cloud their judgement." 

"Shut your - "

"I'm dead on, aren't I?" he said, less a question and more a statement. "That's why you fell into my trap! Just as I planned!"

"Don't listen, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "He's just trying to provoke you!"

_Maybe he is,_ thought Ansei. _But not to beat her… maybe he's trying to bring out her true skill so she doesn't lose sight of it…!_

The other Yugi glared at Maiku.

_Heh heh…_ Maiku thought. _It looks like you've started to wake up. Now we can really duel! Forget about the pressure of fighting Pegasus for now. Let me see those fierce eyes, the eyes of a true duelist!_ Out loud, he said, "Here I go, Yugi! The real fight starts now!"

"Bring it on, Maiku!" said the other Yugi. "I will win this duel!"

_That's better,_ thought Maiku, smiling. _If you didn't give me your all as a duelist, then there'd be no point in beating you!_ Out loud, he said, "It's my turn!" He drew a card. _I halved the Skull Demon's attack points with my trap,_ he thought. _Should I attack with the Harpy on this turn…? No. I'm worried about Yugi's facedown card. She might have a trap too…_ Out loud, he said, "Instead of attacking, I'm going to play this card! Harpy's Feather Duster!" Harpy's Feather Duster eliminated all of the opponent's spell and trap cards.

"My facedown card was Spellbinding Circle," said the other Yugi. "If you had attacked me, you would have fallen into my trap. That was a good read!" With that, she put the card in the graveyard.

Maiku chuckled. "I'm a cautious player," he said. "You should follow my example."

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. She moved Summoned Skull to defense position, then played Feral Imp in defense position.

Maiku chuckled. "Is there a way for you to win without attacking? I wonder…" He drew a card. "I play another spell card!" he said. "Electro-Whip!" This increased Harpy Lady's attack points by 300, resulting in a 2100-attack-point monster.

The other Yugi gulped. _Is he going to keep powering up Harpy Lady while using Mirror Wall as a shield?_ she wondered.

Harpy Lady attacked the Feral Imp. _It's not over yet!_ thought Maiku. _My Harpy Lady combo is_ still _not complete!_

"I play Saiga in defense mode!" said the other Yugi. _Curses…_ she thought. _Unless I eliminate his trap card, he'll win by attrition!_ One of the losing conditions, after all, was running out of cards to draw.

"My turn again!" said Maiku. He drew a card. "With this card, my Harpy Lady combo is almost complete. It's not at full power, but it looks like it's enough to defeat you. Here goes, Yugi! This is the Harpies' ultimate servant! Harpies' Pet Dragon!" The monster in question had not only 2000 attack points and 2500 defense points, it also had an effect, namely its already-high attack and defense increased by 300 for every Harpy Lady on the field. At this point, it now had 2300 attack and 2800 defense. "Saint Fire Giga! The Skull Demon dies!"

The other Yugi was stunned.

Maiku chuckled. "Yugi, there's something you've lost sight of," he said. "It's something you can see, but can't show."

_My own riddle…!_ thought the other Yugi. It was a fairly open-ended riddle. It could refer to _any_ intangible concept with real effects.

"Until you find the answer, you can't defeat me!" said Maiku. "Attack, my dragon! Saint Fire Giga! Destroy Saiga!"

The other Yugi's monsters were dying, one after the other.

"When I fought Jounouchi, she asked me a riddle," said Maiku. "Yugi, this time I'm asking you… what can you show, but can't see? If you don't know the answer, then I'll win!"

"Maiku!" said Jounouchi. "That's the question I asked you! Do you even know the answer yourself?"

"Yes, I do, Jounouchi," said Maiku. "I came up with my own answer!"

"Hmf!" said Jounouchi. "Then I'll answer in place of Yugi! The answer is, of course, friendship!"

Maiku chuckled. "I'm afraid that's incorrect!"

"Well, what is it, darn it?" asked Jounouchi.

_Jounouchi, you taught me the answer,_ thought Maiku. _You should know what it is… how do you think an amateur card player like you survived the battles in Duelist Kingdom? Tell me that, and you'll know the answer! Though the person I'm fighting probably won't guess…_ Out loud, he said, "Your move, Yugi!"

_Now's not the time to be confused by Maiku's words!_ thought the other Yugi. _I won't lose this duel!_ She drew a card. _Yes!_ she thought. _The Dark Magician! Unfortunately, Mirror Wall would prevent me from destroying either of these monsters…_ She set Mirror Force face-down and Dark Magician in defense mode. _Go ahead and attack me, Maiku,_ thought the other Yugi. _All your monsters will be wiped out!_

"It's my turn!" said Maiku. He drew a card. Excellent. Another card for his Harpy Lady combo. _Yugi, it's useless to set a trap for me. I'm one trap ahead of you!_ Out loud, he said, "For my next card, I play Shadow of Eyes! If you want to know what it does, just look at your Magician!" Indeed, Dark Magician stood up to fight, attacking Harpy Lady and activating Mirror Wall again, halving her attack points down to 1250. Once more, Maiku played Harpy's Feather Duster, and attacked Dark Magician with Harpies' Pet Dragon, reducing the other Yugi's life points down to 300. "So, Yugi, what do you think of my Harpy combo?"

The other Yugi looked down at the field. She could do nothing. Her monsters would be forced to attack over and over, with Mirror Wall reducing her life points down to zero.

"I can't believe Maiku is this good…!" said Jounouchi. "I was just lucky when I beat him…"

"No, Jounouchi," said Maiku. "You didn't win _only_ by luck. Back when I fought you, I was playing as hard as I could. If you want to know the truth, when you beat me, I was devastated. I went into denial… I tried to turn my eyes away from the fact that I lost, but I couldn't forget those words… 'something you can show, but you can't see.' When I confronted my real self, I understood the meaning of those words! Jounouchi, do you know why you got so far in the tournament?"

"Huh…?! W-well, it's 'cuz of my friends!" she said. "That's why a bad player like me got this far!"

"That's right," he said. "You know your own weakness! You accept it, and try to become stronger to overcome that weakness. That is the courage of a true duelist! That is what Jounouchi taught me! Yugi! It is not in victory that a duelist's courage is tested! It's after they lose! A strong heart is born only when you are prepared to lose. Yugi, do you have that courage?"

The other Yugi remembered something. _Back then, in the final moments of my duel with Kaiba, when I saw that Kaiba was going to kill herself if she didn't win, I didn't know what to do… I was afraid, afraid of losing… but it was the other me who wasn't afraid to lose! I didn't realize… no, I didn't want to face it. The strength of the other me made up for my weakness. That's what you can show but you can't see._ Out loud, she said, "Maiku, I'm proud I got to fight you. This is where the real duel begins!"

Maiku chuckled. "Yugi! I doubt even you could turn this situation around!"

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. _This card holds our fate,_ she thought. _Maiku, you made me realize, the two of us fight together!_ As she drew the card, she seemed to feel an invisible presence holding her hand, almost like her other self. She looked at the card. Excellent. "My card is Brain Control! This allows me to brainwash one of your monsters! For the next turn, it will do whatever I say! And the monster I choose is your dragon! Furthermore, I set a facedown card, and play Catapult Turtle! I strap the Dragon to the Catapult Turtle, and activate its effect!" This had the dual effect of destroying the Mirror Wall and reducing Maiku's life points to 850.

_A brilliant combo,_ thought Maiku.

"Yes! Yugi! You can still make a comeback!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Yugi looks different from before!" exclaimed Ansei. "All that doubt and impatience is gone! She looks determined!"

_Maiku, you and my other self made me realize that only resolve gives a duelist true strength! This turn, my resolve will be tested!_ thought the other Yugi.

"My turn!" said Maiku. He drew a card. _After Yugi's last move, the Turtle is stuck in attack mode…_ thought Maiku. _If I crush it now with my Harpy, Yugi will lose all her life points and I'll win! But the facedown card she played worries me.. could it be a trap? I don't have any more Harpy's Feather Dusters in my hand… what do I do? Should I attack or not…?_ Out loud, he said, "Are you ready? Well, I won't attack this turn. I still have the advantage even if I don't attack this round. Instead, I'll play this spell card on my Harpy! Elegant Egotist!" He laughed. "Are you ready, Yugi?"

"…So you're done with your turn?" asked the other Yugi. She smiled. "Maiku, I'm sorry…"

"Huh?"

"I would have lost if you attacked me."

"Wh-what?!"

"My facedown card is Monster Recovery. A spell card that lets me refresh my hand."

_So it wasn't a trap card,_ thought Maiku.

"You missed your chance of winning," said the other Yugi. "I activate Monster Recovery! I'll return Catapult Turtle, along with the rest of my hand, to my deck, shuffle, and draw five new cards!" None of her cards were immune to Shadow of Eyes… but she could still work her hand to her advantage. "I activate Monster Reborn!" she said. "I revive Gaia the Fierce Knight! I now equip it with Horn of the Unicorn!" This increased Gaia's attack points from 2300 to 3000, along with the tip of the lance growing sharper, taking on the form of the Horn. "And now, Gaia attacks! Spiral Saber!" Gaia attacked one of the Harpy Ladies, reducing Maiku's life points to zero.

"I lose…" said Maiku.

"Maiku…" said the other Yugi. "Thank you. You made me realize what I was about to lose sight of… 'what can you show, but can't see?' That's what you said."

"Yugi…" said Maiku. "There's no such thing as an invincible duelist. Everyone has some weakness in their hearts. Everyone knows it, but they try to cover it up… everyone tries to put up a bold front, but _that_ can be a weakness too. Yugi, there are two ways of losing! A loss where everything truly ends, and a loss which is just a step on the road to victory. I will become stronger from this loss! And I will achieve my dream in the end!"

"Yes!" said the other Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the way that Yugi wins the duel. In the original manga, Yugi drew different cards, and the manga tried to explain Mystical Elf remaining in defense mode despite Shadow of Eyes by the fact that it was female, and thus immune to the Harpy Ladies' pheromones. That, quite frankly, is a nonsensical explanation. Shadow of Eyes' description, even in the manga, never said _anything_ about gender. I looked through the decklist for Yugi's Duelist Kingdom deck, and tried to think of a way that Yugi could win with the cards she had, without resorting to that. I realized that Yugi had Horn of the Unicorn, Monster Reborn, Summoned Skull, Gaia the Fierce Knight, and Dark Magician. I initially went for Summoned Skull being equipped with Horn of the Unicorn, but then I figured Gaia's lance transforming to become more powerful was a cooler visual image than Summoned Skull attacking with a unicorn horn (especially since it uses a long-distance attack, how would a unicorn horn help?). Also, keeping it the same would have created a plot hole: If Dark Magician (female in this fic) was affected, how would Mystical Elf _not_ be? The only way that works is if cards have sexual orientations – quite frankly overcomplicating an already-complicated game.


	56. Realization

"We will now hold the second duel of the tournament," said Crocketts. "Will the duelists please step forward?"

"Jounouchi! It's time!" said Yugi.

"All righty then!" said Jounouchi. "Here goes!"

Bandit Kate sat on one of the seats, feet on the table. She yawned.

"Huh?!" asked Jounouchi "Hey! Kate, you creep! Get your feet off the table!"

"Huh? Hell… a baby like you's gonna play me?" asked Kate. "You think you can beat Bandit Kate?"

"I don't like seeing the bottom of anybody's boots," said Jounouchi, remembering her mother with disdain, "but you're about as good as dog crap on the bottom of my shoe!"

Kate laughed. "Bottom of your shoe…? What do you say, huh? If you lick the bottom of my boot I'll forfeit the duel!"

"Why you…!"

"Bandit Kate!" said the other Yugi. "That table is a duelist's battlefield! I won't forgive anyone who disrespects that!"

Bandit Kate chuckled. "Sure, it's a duelist's battlefield, but does your dumbass friend here really have the right to be called a duelist?"

" _What_ did you just say?" asked Jounouchi, gritting her teeth.

Kate held up Honor of the King's Right. "Remember this?" she asked. "It's the card you need to participate in the tournament! I'm sure you also need this card to sit at this dueling table… _right,_ 'Josie?'" Her face was twisted into a cruel smirk.

"Hmph!" said Jounouchi, rummaging through her jacket pockets for her own copy. "I've got one of those too!" Except… there wasn't anything in her pockets? _Oh no…_ she thought. _I lost the card!_ "What?! Wh-where is it? I was positive it was in my jacket pocket…"

"What..?!" asked Ansei. "You didn't lose the card, did you?!"

"Hey, you!" said Kate to Crocketts. "Doesn't that mean she can't duel?"

"Yes ma'am," said Crocketts. "Those without the cards will be disqualified!"

"Just hang on a second!" said Jounouchi. "I know it's here somewhere!" _I can't believe it!_ she thought.

Kate laughed. "You're shit out of luck, kid!" she said. _Of course you don't have it,_ she thought. _I stole it from you! Now I can get through the first round without even dueling!_ Now she wouldn't have to waste her time fighting some nobody.

"Jounouchi! Maybe you dropped your card somewhere," said the other Yugi.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "I must've left it in my room! You guys stay here! I'm gonna go get my cards and be right back!"

"You have five minutes!" said Crocketts. "In the event you cannot present the card in five minutes, you will be disqualified!"

"Crap!" said Jounouchi, as she ran.

"That's not fair!" said Ansei. "She can't even get to her room and come back here in five minutes!"

_Jounouchi! No!_ thought the other Yugi.

Kate laughed. "That's it! Just keep running!"

_Shit!_ thought Jounouchi. _I've come this far… I can't give up now!_ She ran past Bakura and Honda, the latter carrying an unconscious Mokuno. Neither had found Kaiba.

"Jounouchi…!" said Honda. What was she running for? Bakura merely looked confused. _Somehow_ Mokuno had turned up in Honda's room, after she had blacked out in the middle of the night. Did the spirit of the Millennium Ring have to do with this…?

Meanwhile, back at the dueling arena…

"Hey! Hasn't it been five minutes already?" asked Kate.

"No, only three," said Crocketts.

_Dammit,_ thought Kate. _This is the most useless five minutes of my life…_

"There's not enough time, Yugi," said Ansei.

_What can I do?_ wondered the other Yugi.

"Dammit, just disqualify her already!" said Kate. "She's not gonna come back!"

"Hey! What'd you mean by that?" asked Ansei.

"I _mean_ that kid doesn't know shit about cards!" said Kate. "She's a moron! But she knows she's outmatched! She peed her pants when she heard she had to fight me! Sure, she says she lost the card. That way she doesn't have to admit she's chicken! She's probably off crying somewhere in the castle!"

"Why you!" said Ansei.

"Bandit Kate, Jounouchi is not the kind of person who'd run away!" said the other Yugi. "She _will_ come back! And then she will fight you!"

_Haw haw haw…_ thought Kate. These kids. Where did they get their life lessons, Saturday morning cartoons?

Meanwhile…

One minute left. Jounouchi was gasping for breath, having run for almost four minutes straight. _I couldn't find it anywhere,_ she thought. _I came to this island and won the duels_ somehow… _even if it was just luck… to come this far and have my dream end…_ She fell to her knees in despair, a tear in her eye. _Why am I so stupid?! Shizu… I'm sorry… I couldn't even give you your sight back! Why…? Why… forgive me, Shizu!_

"Stand up, Jounouchi!" said a voice. Jounouchi looked up. It was Maiku. "Save your tears for if you lose the duel!"

_Maiku…_ thought Jounouchi. "Hmph!" she said. "Don't look at me!" Why'd somebody have to catch her crying?!

"If you don't want to be seen, what are you doing here?" asked Maiku. He sighed, irritably. "Here. Use this," he said, handing Jounouchi a handkerchief.

"Huh?" asked Jounouchi.

"Ansei told me about your brother," said Maiku. "Don't give up on your wishes so easily."

_Huh?_ thought Jounouchi. She unfolded the handkerchief. In it was Honor of the King's Right. _This is the qualification card!_ she thought.

"I don't need it anymore," said Maiku.

"Maiku! You…"

"Get going!" said Maiku. "You don't have time to talk! Come on, run! You better win, Jounouchi!"

"I will!" she said. She ran for the door. Thankfully, she had only been a short distance from the arena.

"Jounouchi!" exclaimed the other Yugi.

"You made it!" exclaimed Ansei.

Jounouchi walked up to the duel arena, and showed Crocketts the card. "You satisfied now?" she asked.

"Y-yes…" said Crocketts. "Th-that was five minutes exactly! You're safe!"

_What the hell?!_ thought Kate. Man, this really _was_ starting to play out like a Saturday morning cartoon, at least for _them…_

"Get your feet off the table!" said Jounouchi.

"Shit," muttered Kate. Out loud, she said, "Looks like we'll have to duel now. But get this; the moment you sit down, I'm gonna show you a living hell!"

"Then I'll beat you there," said Jounouchi.

The two sat down at the arena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fun trivia! Did you know that Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL was the last Saturday morning cartoon before the Vortexx block stopped airing September 27, 2014? I mention this _solely_ for the reference to Saturday morning cartoons in this chapter!


	57. Duelist of Steel

With that, the duel began. Jounouchi and Kate shuffled each other's decks and handed them back. They each had 2000 life points. They drew their opening hands.

"Here I go!" said Jounouchi.

"I get to go first!" said Kate. "Get ready, punk! I'm playing with a machine deck. I'm gonna send you to hell! I summon Pendulum Machine in defense mode!" Pendulum Machine had 1750 attack points and 2000 defense points. "Listen up! I'm the former U.S. champion, and I'm gonna kick your butt back to Japan!"

"Ha! 'Former U.S. champion?' To me you just look like some washed-up has-been who's resting on her laurels!" said Jounouchi. "Now, here I go! My first turn! I play Kung Fu Fighter Ultimator in defense mode!" The Ultimator had 700 attack points and 1000 defense points.

"That card's not even worth beating!" said Kate. "Just get lost! Pendulum Machine! Turn him to mincemeat!" Ultimator was destroyed, but at a cost to Kate.

_Good move, Jounouchi!_ thought the other Yugi. _Using Ultimator has a decoy to lure your enemy into attack mode! Now on your turn you can counterattack! But watch out for Pendulum Machine's effect!_

"Hurry up!" said Kate. "It's your turn!"

"I know that!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. "I play Giltia the Dark Knight!" Gilta had 1850 attack points and 1500 defense points. "His soul spear can kill you in one shot! So get ready!"

_Bring it on!_ thought Kate.

Giltia fired off a spell… except, it didn't work?

Kate laughed. "My machine deck monsters are immune to magic! Magic attacks won't do jack squat against them!"

_Oh no…_ thought Jounouchi.

"Now it's my turn!" said Kate. "Land Ironclad TM-1 Launcher Spider!" Launcher Spider had 2200 attack points and 2500 defense points. "Take aim and kill him!" said Kate. The Spider easily destroyed Giltia, leaving Jounouchi with 1650 life points. "You're no match for me!"

_Oh man…_ thought Jounouchi. _She's strong… I guess she really_ is _the ex-champion…_ She gulped. "My turn again," she said out loud. She drew a card. _Rats,_ she thought. _My cards don't have enough attack points! They can't compete with her robots!_ "Okay, here goes! I play one card face-down! And then I play Axe Raider in defense mode!" Axe Raider had 1700 attack points and 1150 defense points.

"Heh…" said Kate. "I can't believe you made it this far with that kind of card in your deck…" _Even if I beat that shitty card, it's in defense mode, so she won't lose any life… I've got a better idea! I'll trap this fool and end this quickly!_ Out loud, she said, "I'll play a facedown card too. And then I play Zoa in defense mode! Take that!" Zoa had 2600 attack points and 1900 defense points. "I'm done! It's your turn!"

_That's odd,_ thought the other Yugi. _Zoa isn't a machine monster, it's a normal Dark monster. And even though it had 2600 attack points, she played it in defense mode, when it only has 1900 defense…_ She realized something. _This has to be a trap! Look out, Jounouchi!_

_Yes! I can beat it!_ thought Jounouchi. After drawing her card, she said, "I play Flame Swordsman! And the spell card Salamandra! Go, Flame Swordsman! Attack with the magic sword!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Kate chuckled. "You idiot!" she said. "I activate a trap card! Metalmorph! Zoa turns into metal, raising its attack and defense!" Indeed, its attack and defense increased by 400 points, resulting in it having 3000 attack points and 2300 defense points. The spell bounced off. "And that's not all! The deflected magic attack strikes back with Metalzoa's attack points!" Indeed, with Flame Swordsman's 2500 attack points, it was easily destroyed, leaving Jounouchi with 1150 life points.

Kate laughed. "You really are a damn moron! A top-notch idiot! Best of all, it's still my turn!" She drew a card. "I win, kid!"

"What?!" asked Jounouchi.

"I know you're gonna defend with Axe Raider, so I activate the spell card, Stop Defense!" This card did exactly what you would expect. This was bad. If Metalzoa hit the Axe Raider, it would be all over for Jounouchi. "It's game over, kid!" Except… Metalzoa disappeared? _Huh?_ thought Kate. _Where'd my card go…?_

"Heh…" said Jounouchi, flipping over her facedown card from before. "Ta-da! I trapped you! Chasm of Spikes!" This card destroyed the opponent's monster when it attacked, and subtracted a quarter of the destroyed monster's attack points from the opponent's life points.

_What?!_ Kate thought. _She had a trap?!_ Now Kate had 1250 life points.

"Hey Kate," said Jounouchi. "Didn't I tell you that you were a washed-up has-been?"

Kate grimaced. _You're not gonna get away with this!_

"My turn!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. _Heh heh!_ "First I'll play a card face-down! I'm warning you, it's a trap card, so watch out, okay?" She chuckled.

Kate growled. _Telling me she's playing a trap card…! What an idiot!_ "Is that supposed to be some kind of mind game?"

"I'll put Axe Raider in defense mode," said Jounouchi, "and play this in attack mode! Beast-Warrior Garoozis!" Garoozis had 1800 attack points and 1500 defense points. "Attack Pendulum Machine!" Pendulum Machine was destroyed, leaving Kate with 1200 life points. Kate growled. Jounouchi chuckled.

_I'm gonna kill you!_ thought Kate. Out loud, she said, "It's my turn!" She drew a card. "Launcher Spider! Target Garoozis!" 

"Heh…" said Jounouchi. "You just activated my trap card! Kunai with Chain! Garoozis Axe Crush!" Kunai with Chain increased a monster's attack points by 500 when an opponent declared an attack. Garoozis now had 2300 attack points, overpowering Launcher Spider, leaving Kate with 1100 life points.

_The tide has turned in Jounouchi's favor,_ thought Pegasus. _Based on experience, strategy, and deck, the girl is nowhere near Kate… what is making up for the difference…? After I crushed Kate in that tournament, she disappeared. I heard rumors that she turned to an underground gambling circuit. And now she appears before me once again, a fallen duelist. I'm going to read both their minds._ She focused her mind, first on Jounouchi, then on Kate. _One of them, motivated by despair and revenge! The other, motivated by hope and trust! I see…_

Kate laughed.

"What're you grinning about?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Kid, have you ever risked your life before?" asked Kate. "I'm asking you, have you ever seen hell?" She made a gun gesture at her head. "You don't care who you have to kill, as long as you save your own skin… that's what hell is! This 'Duelist Kingdom' is the same thing. There's only one way out of my hell, and it's right through Pegasus! I'll do anything to get there!"

"Then I'll kick you back down to hell!" said Jounouchi. "Get ready, Kate!"

Kate laughed. "It's my turn!" she said. "I play one card face-down on the field and attack with this! Barrel Dragon!" Barrel Dragon had a whopping 2600 attack points and 2200 defense points. "This is gonna be fun!" she continued. "Now I get to gamble! Barrel Dragon has three revolvers, one for its head and both shoulders! Each cylinder is loaded with three bullets each! That means a 50-50 chance! When it attacks, the cylinder spins!"

_This is like Russian Roulette,_ thought Jounouchi.

"Here I go!" said Kate. "Barrel Dragon! Attack mode! Russian Roulette!" The revolvers spun. "If all three roulettes go my way, I can kill three monsters at once!"

The barrels slowed down. There was a "click!" from each one.

"Two out of three!" said Kate. The guns fired. "I just massacred your whole army!" Jounouchi was left with 850 life points. Kate laughed. "Each of the Barrel Dragon's heads has 2600 attack points! On my next turn, the empty chambers will reload!"

_Heh, if that's the way you wanna do it…_ Jounouchi drew a card. "I'll play this card!" she said. "Time Wizard!"

"What…?!" said Kate. _Shit! The Time Wizard!_

"A gamble for a gamble!" said Jounouchi. "I'm gonna use Time Roulette and blow you away to the end of time! And that's not all I'm doing! I'm also playing a monster card! Baby Dragon! Attack mode!"

_Heh heh…_ thought Kate. _Go for it. Too bad I got a facedown card too!_

"Here I go! Time Roulette!" said Jounouchi. The arrow began spinning.

"Please let it be a win…!" said Ansei.

The arrow slowed down a bit.

_If she misses this, all Jounouchi's monsters will be destroyed, and she'll lose half their attack value in life points,_ thought the other Yugi.

The arrow continued slowing down.

_Come on,_ thought Jounouchi. _Please, Time Wizard!_

The arrow began slowing down faster

Kate grimaced.

The arrow eventually stopped.

"Yes! I did it!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "Time magic! Time goes forward hundreds of years! All the monsters get older! And the Baby Dragon turns into the Thousand Dragon!" Thousand Dragon had 2400 attack points and 2500 defense points. Kate's monsters rusted, reducing Revolver Dragon's attack and defense points to 1800 and 1400 respectively.

"She did it!" said the other Yugi. "The Barrel Dragon's attack points went down!"

"All righty!" said Jounouchi. "Go get 'em! Thousand Nose Breath!" Thousand Dragon breathed fire on Revolver Dragon, melting it down and destroying it. "Yeah!" she said. "I totally blew him away! Goodbye, Barrel Dragon!"

_Heh heh…_ thought Kate. _I told you, my machine cards are invincible!_ "I play this trap card!" she said. "Time Machine!" This card reverted the state of the field to what it was the previous turn. A giant metal cylinder appeared on the field. When the doors opened, it revealed the Barrel Dragon, unrusted and at its base attack and defense. "Russian Roulette! Gun Cannon Shot! No goddamn fantasy dragon is a match for my gun dragon!" Indeed, Barrel Dragon easily destroyed Thousand Dragon, bringing Jounouchi's life points down to 650.

Jounouchi gulped. _Did she guess what I was planning?_ she wondered.

"I memorized your so-called deck back when you were fighting Kozuka," said Kate. "You're such an amateur, you don't even have a strategy! Read my lips, dumbass. You deck is no match against my ultimate machine deck! Now c'mon! Play another monster! I'm itching for something to kill!"

Jounouchi drew a card. "I play Kojikocy in defense mode…" she said. Revolver Dragon instantly destroyed it.

"It's not over yet!" said Kate. "I'm playing another monster in defense mode!" The monster was Slot Machine. 2000 attack points and 2300 defense points. Jounouchi remained silent.

"Well?" said Kate. "Speechless? You wanna surrender? Well, tough shit, kid! I'll kill you when I'm good and ready!"

_It's not over yet,_ thought Jounouchi. _I still have my ultimate card, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, in my hand!_ she thought. _But her Revolver Dragon has 2600 attack points… if I play it now, it'll just die! I hope I can just draw that_ one _card!_

"I'm playing another machine in defense mode!" said Kate. "It's your turn!"

Jounouchi drew a card. "I play one card face-down on the field, and summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, in attack mode! I end my turn!"

"So, at last, the strongest card in your deck," said Kate. "But it's no match for a couple of 40-ought slugs from my Barrel Dragon! Okay then! If that's what you want, I'll make it a clean shot! This is the end! Barrel Dragon, kill Red-Eyes!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"Heh," said Jounouchi, smirking. "I've been waiting for this!" she said. "Check out my facedown card!"

_What?!_ thought Kate.

"Copycat!" said Jounouchi. "I'm gonna copy one of your cards! And I choose Metalmorph, to summon Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon!" Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon had 2800 attack points and 2400 defense points.

_My own card…!_ thought Kate.

"And now I counterattack," said Jounouchi. "Attack! Dark Mega Flare! The Barrel Dragon dies! You're goin' right back to hell!" Kate now had 900 life points.

_Shit!_ thought Kate. _That thing has 2800 attack points!_ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn! I play another facedown card! Slot Machine stays in defense mode!"

_The Slot Machine only has 2300 defense points,_ thought Jounouchi. _I can kill it in one blow with my Red-Eyes!_ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn!" and drew a card. "I'll play a facedown card, too! And I attack Slot Machine! Dark Mega Flare!"

"Not quite, brat!" said Kate. "I'm gonna use this facedown card! 7 Completed! An interchangeable power unit that increases the Slot Machine's defense!" One of the slots now had a 7 on it, accompanied by an increase to its defense points by 700, resulting in it having 3000 defense. Jounouchi now had 450 life points. "Now it's my turn!" Slot Machine could be equipped with up to three 7 Completed cards, increasing either attack or defense, for a maximum of 2100 to either one. _Well, didn't I say something about a difference in skill?_ thought Kate. _I'm going to show you that right now. I have two 7 Completed cards hidden in my wristbands! So what if it's cheating? I'm gonna use them right now!_ "And guess what?" she said. "I got another 7 Completed in my hand! This one adds 700 attack points!" Now it had 2700 attack points.

_Is she going to keep increasing its attack points while it's in defense mode?!_ wondered Jounouchi.

"I'm playing another card, too!" said Kate. The card in question was Blast Sphere. It had 2900 attack points. It attached to Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon. "That's a time bomb set to explode in one turn!" she said. "In other words, unless you can do something about it on your next turn, Red-Eyes is history!"

_Oh, crap…_ thought Jounouchi. _If this explodes, my dragon is doomed! She drew a card, and equipped it to Red-Eyes._

"Time's up!" said Kate. There was an explosion. When the dust cleared… Red-Eyes was still there?!

_What the – ?!_ thought Kate.

"Phew, that was close…" said Jounouchi. "Good thing I drew this card!" "This card" being Dragon Nails, a card that increased the attack points of a Dark dragon monster by 600 points.

_Shit…_ thought Kate. _Now its attack points are 3400?! And the bomb ricocheted and hurt me too…! Why you little…_ Now Kate had 400 life points. "Look what I have!" said Kate. "Another 7 Completed card! I equip it in attack mode!" Now it all came down to what Jounouchi would draw next. _I'll end it on this turn,_ she thought. She laughed. "You better not be thinking you can still beat me," said Kate. "'Cause if you are, I'll open your eyes with this! Pillager! It lets me look at your hand and take any card I want! Now show me your goddamn hand!"

Jounouchi did exactly that, growling under her breath. The cards she had were Shield and Sword, Whirlpool, and Rock Ogre.

Kate chuckled. "You've got a nice card!" she said, in reference to Shield and Sword. "Didn't you beat Kozuka with this one? I'll take it!" She laughed. "It's over, 'Josie!' Attack! Defense Reverse!" Now Slot Machine had 3000 attack points and 3400 defense points, and Red-Eyes had 2400 attack points and 3400 defense points. Jounouchi gulped. "Attack!" said Kate.

"I play this facedown card!" said Jounouchi.

"It doesn't matter!" said Kate. "Die!" She laughed. "I win!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Jounouchi's facedown card had been Graverobber. She used it on Time Machine. Kate's laughter had slowed down, stopping. Her jaw dropped.

"I'm not proud of beating you at thieving, but…" The metal cylinder from earlier appeared on Jounouchi's side of the field. Red-Eyes stepped out, at full attack and defense. Furthermore, Slot Machine, in attack mode, had 2700 attack points. "Dark Mega Flare!" said Jounouchi, destroying Slot Machine and bringing Kate down to zero life points.

Jounouchi stood up.

"I did it, you jerk!" said Jounouchi. "I won!" _I really did it,_ she thought.

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi.

"Our hero!" said Ansei.

"Yugi! Ansei!" said Jounouchi. She brought the two of them in for a hug. "Thanks…" she said, much quieter. "I couldn't have won without you guys…" 

"No, Jounouchi," said the other Yugi. "You fought alone and were victorious!"

"Yeah!" said Ansei. "You won without help from anybody! You can be proud of it!"

"Sorry… Yugi…" said Jounouchi. "I know I'm not out of Duelist Kingdom yet, but for me, that felt like the final battle…"

"But if you and Yugi both advance to the championship match, doesn't that mean you two have to fight?" asked Ansei. And if they _did_ fight, would the winner be able to defeat Pegasus?


	58. Be Prepared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Body horror trigger warning. To skip past it, hit "Ctrl + F" or use the "Find on page" feature on mobile and type in "Meanwhile, at the arena" into the search.

"That won't be necessary!" said the other Yugi. "Our objective was to beat Pegasus! Now that we've come this far, she's finally within our sights! If Jounouchi and I fought in front of her, we'd only expose more of our tactics!"

"I guess it would only hurt…" said Ansei.

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "Will you leave the rest to me?"

"Yugi…" said Jounouchi. "I know you're the only person who has a chance of beating Pegasus… I know that even before we came to this island… but still… but still! Can I really weigh you down with my baggage? You're already fighting for yourself and your grandma! Do you really want to fight for _me?_ "

"Of course!" said the other Yugi, smiling. "I'll win _because_ I'm fighting for you! Just like you fought for your brother…"

_Yugi…_ thought Jounouchi. Sometimes she _still_ couldn't believe how much Yugi cared. After so many years of abuse, fighting with gangs, and in general only having herself and Honda to rely on… it was still shocking to see Yugi, the girl she bullied so many years, _care_ so deeply.

_Jounouchi! I will defeat Pegasus! For you and for Shizu!_ thought the other Yugi. Jounouchi handed over Honor of the King's Right. The other Yugi held it up for Pegasus to see. "Now, Pegasus! It's time for us to fight!"

Pegasus stood up. "Prepare my duel stage," she said to a security guard.

"But, Ms. Pegasus!" protested the security guard. "Yugi and Jounouchi haven't fought yet! The championship...!"

"They don't need to fight," said Pegasus. "A duel between those two would be pointless." _I can see it,_ she thought. _A strong bond of trust connects them… and now that Yugi has taken on her friend's wishes, her spirit is becoming even stronger!_ Out loud, she said, "Let the final battle of Duelist Kingdom begin!"

But the duel wouldn't begin just yet. Kate was making her way towards Pegasus. _Just you wait, you little shit… we'll see who has the last laugh!_

Pegasus heard footsteps behind her. She and her guards turned around. _Bandit Kate,_ she thought. Thankfully, the Millennium Eye had more powers than just mind-reading…

Kate chuckled. "Pegasus… we finally meet face to face…" Kate held a knife.

"Bandit Kate!" said one of the guards, reaching for a gun up his sleeve.

"No need for a weapon," said Pegasus.

"I'm just gonna say it one time," said Kate. "Gimme the prize right now!"

"Heh," said Pegasus. "To see the old 'Prize Queen' like this… no wonder you lost to some girl who never played a tournament before this weekend…"

"Shut the _fuck_ up!" said Kate. "Gimme the prize before you get hurt!"

"Yes, yes…" said Pegasus. "I'm glad we had this little chat. According to the Kingdom's regulations, you must be punished. I saw what you did during the match. Did you think you could cheat in front of _me?_ Transferring a card from your wristband to your hand…"

"Haw, so what?" asked Kate. "I don't give a shit about the match! It's legal by _my_ rules!"

"It seems like you already lost your duelist's mind when I fought you back in America…" said Pegasus. "Are you ready?"

"What?" asked Kate.

"Penalty game!" said Pegasus, pointing at Kate.

Kate screamed in pain. The pain came from her right hand. She looked at it. Her hand was deforming, veins showing, the feeling of cold metal on the inside of her hand. "There's a gun in my hand!" No, she wasn't holding a gun. There was a gun _inside her hand!_ Horrified, she saw her hand moving on its own, forming a gun gesture, stiff, immobile index finger as the barrel. A click, and she fell down.

Of course, this wasn't what others perceived. All the confused guards saw was a woman screaming and sweating, as she made a gun gesture, "shooting" herself in the temple.

Pegasus went over to the dueling arena, apathetic to Kate's screaming hallucination.

Meanwhile, at the arena, the other Yugi sorted through her deck, giving it a final once-over. She removed the camera from her jacket pocket. "Grandma, I'm finally fighting Pegasus!" she said. "Soon I'll win and get your soul back!"

"Yugi…" said Sugako. "Your duel with Pegasus will be your biggest challenge so far. When faced with difficulties, those who lose sight of themselves have no choice but to travel the path of defeat! Listen well, Yugi! When all hope seems lost, you must look within yourself. That's how you'll find a way out!"

"Yes!" said the other Yugi. "I understand, Grandma!"

Just then, she heard a pair of voices. One of them said Yugi's name and the other Jounouchi's. They were Honda and Bakura.

"All right, Yugi!" said Honda. "You made it!"

"Where the heck _were_ you guys?" said Jounouchi. "Sheesh…" she muttered.

"We spent all night looking for Mokuno," said Honda. "She's now resting in one of the rooms. Seems like Kaiba's locked up in a different tower, so we couldn't rescue her… Yugi, Mokuno's soul was sucked out… only you can save her and her sister…"

_Mokuno!_ thought the other Yugi. _I remember what you said to me at Death-T… I won't break my promise! You two will be reunited!_

"Beat her for Mokuno, Yugi!" said Bakura. "Kill her!"

Honda looked over at Bakura. _Bakura's acting weird, just like when we were down in the castle dungeon…_ she thought. _Am I the only one who notices? I guess now isn't the time to say anything…_ Out loud, she said, "Yugi! I know you can do it!"

"Yeah!" said the other Yugi.

"It's time!" said Crocketts. "Will Yugi Mutou please step forward and take a seat at the dueling arena?"

"Here we go!" said Jounouchi.

The other Yugi approached the arena.

"Good luck, Yugi!" said Honda.

"Kick her butt!" said Jounouchi.

When the other Yugi stepped on the platform, it began to rise up. She began to sweat. Eventually, the platform stopped. From the other side approached Pegasus. _This is the last duel of Duelist Kingdom!_ thought the other Yugi. _And only one of us will walk away!_

"Yugi, my prodigal duelist," said Pegasus. "I commend you for surviving the Kingdom and earning the right to duel me!"

"Before we fight, you have to promise me!" said the other Yugi. "Promise that if I win, you'll release Grandma's soul!"

"Yes!" said Pegasus. "We have a deal, then."

"That's not all!" said the other Yugi. "The souls of the Kaiba sisters sealed in the cards, too!"

"That's odd…" said Pegasus. "Isn't Kaiba your enemy? And yet, you want to save her?"

"Right now, _you're_ my only enemy!" said the other Yugi.

"I see…" said Pegasus. "A promise, eh…? Fine. I promise to release them. I'll free them from the prison of lost souls, _if_ you can beat me. And now, Yugi, please sit at the dueling arena."

The other four went upstairs to see the duel.

"Will Yugi be all right?" asked Bakura on the way up. "She's up against the power of the Millennium Eye."

"Don't be stupid!" said Jounouchi. "Yugi's not gonna lose! She'll be the real queen of this island after she kicks Pegasus' butt!"

With that, the four made it to the balcony to watch the duel.

The other Yugi and Pegasus sat down at the arena.

"Yugi, please present the two cards that prove your right to challenge Pegasus!" said Crocketts.

The other Yugi did exactly that.

"Thank you," said Crocketts, taking the cards. "In the event that Yugi defeats the current queen, Ms. Pegasus, you will be given a prize in exchange for the Honor of the King's Right card! Ms. Pegasus, is that clear?"

"Yes, of course!" said Pegasus. "And the other card, Honor of the King's Left… there is no picture on that card. Do you know why, Yugi?"

"I do," said the other Yugi. "A picture will emerge when I lose to you. In other words, my soul will be sealed in that card. Right?"

"Right!" said Pegasus. "You stepped up to fight me, knowing what awaits. Your courage is amazing!"

"What the – ?!" said Honda.

"If Yugi loses, she'll end up like Kaiba!" said Jounouchi. "She challenged Pegasus knowing that!"

_Yugi, don't lose!_ thought Ansei. _If you lose, I'll lose something too… and I couldn't bear that!_

"Heh," said the other Yugi. "But Pegasus, I don't intend to become a part of your card collection!"

"Ms. Pegasus," said Crocketts. "About the key in Mokuno's stomach… we scanned Mokuno and retrieved 3D data of the key. A copy will be completed shortly."

_Okay, all the pieces are in place,_ thought Pegasus. _All that's left is to win this duel._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, that actually happened in the manga. There was no Jounouchi versus Yugi duel in the manga. That, surprisingly, was a filler episode. And it _still_ would make more sense than the Kaiba vs. Jounouchi duel. I wonder if there's an alternate universe where the duel with Kaiba was the filler anime episode and the duel with Yugi had been in the manga. Though honestly, part of me wonders if the Kaiba vs. Jounouchi duel was filler in its own right, and Kazuki Takahashi needed to put _something_ out that week for Shonen Jump, even if it ultimately would have minimal impact on the plot.


	59. Honor of the King's Right

With that, the duel began, the duelists shuffling each other's decks and returning them. They each had 2000 life points. They drew their opening hands.

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. "First, I play a facedown card! Then I play this in defense mode! Beaver Warrior!" Beaver Warrior had 1200 attack points and 1500 defense points.

Pegasus chuckled. "Well then, it's my turn. I'll also play a facedown card, as well as Red Archery Girl in defense mode!" Red Archery Girl had 1400 attack points and 1500 defense points. "I end my turn!"

_The Mermaid Archer…_ thought the other Yugi. _An ordinary card with the water attribute…_

_Heh heh…_ thought Pegasus. _Do you think I don't know, Yugi? I know your facedown card is Horn of the Unicorn. I know that next turn you will equip it on Beaver Warrior and attack me…_

_This should work!_ thought the other Yugi. _My facedown card is even more powerful against a water monster!_ "All right!" she said out loud. "Beaver Warrior switches to attack mode! And I use my facedown card! The Horn's powers transform the Beaver's sword into an electric sword! His attack goes up by 700 points!" Indeed, Beaver Warrior now had 1900 attack points. "Attack the Archer!"

"You made a mistake…" said Pegasus, flipping over her own facedown card. "Trap card, activate!" It was Mermaid's Tear.

"He's trapped in a giant water bubble!" said the other Yugi.

"Not so smart to use electricity underwater, is it?" said Pegasus. "Now he'll be shocked by his own sword and lose attack points!" Now Beaver Warrior reverted to 1200 attack points. "Finish him off, mermaid! Arrow Shot! Beaver Warrior is killed!" The other Yugi now had 1800 life points.

"I-it's as if she knew what Yugi's card was going to be!" said Ansei.

"Did her magic eye do it?!" asked Jounouchi.

The other Yugi growled. _She can read my mind!_ she thought. _The creator of the cards, the undisputed ruler… how can I stand up to the power of the Millennium Eye?!_

"Well, Yugi," said Pegasus. "Looks like you wasted a turn, doesn't it? There are many variables in this game… which cards to choose, when to attack… the road to defeat is lined with a great number of little mistakes, one after the other. Let me say one thing. I _never_ make mistakes."

The other Yugi mentally growled. _She gives off a sense of absolute confidence!_ she thought. _If I can't break free of that, I can't win!_ She drew a card. "I play the Stone Golem in defense mode, and end my turn!" With its 2000 defense, it should survive, at least for a bit.

"Now it's my turn again!" said Pegasus. She drew a card. "First I play a facedown card, and then I play Ryu-Ran, the Dragon's Egg! In defense mode!" Ryu-Ran had 2200 attack points and 2600 defense points. "Red Archery Girl goes into defense mode, and my turn is over!"

"Then it's my turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card.

_Heh heh…_ thought Pegasus. _I can see your cards… Mind Scan!_ She could see that Yugi had an Imp, Magical Hats, Spellbinding Circle, and Celtic Guardian, and had drawn Summoned Skull.

The other Yugi was unsettled. _I felt it,_ she thought. _That piercing stare that stabs through my cards… it's not just in my imagination. She's reading my mind! There's nothing I can do about it!_

_Heh heh…_ thought Pegasus. _Too bad, Yugi! I have predicted your tactics for this turn. You'll play Spellbinding Circle face-down, then Summoned Skull in defense mode, to tempt me to attack._

The other Yugi did exactly that. "I end my turn!" she said.

"Okay…" said Pegasus. _Fine,_ she thought. _I'll step into your trap… let us see_ who _is trapped in the end…_ "Now it's my turn," she said, drawing a card. "Ryu-Ran goes into attack mode! Kill the Skull Demon! Dragon Flame!"

"I activate my trap card!" said the other Yugi. "Spellbinding Circle! It blocks your attack and hobbles your monster!"

"Oh no! Whatever shall I do?!" asked Pegasus, deliberately overacting. If it would get her to let her guard down…

Ryu-Ran now had 1500 attack points.

_Can it really be that easy?!_ wondered the other Yugi. _I'm still not sure that trap really worked…_ "It's my turn! Summoned Skull goes into attack mode! Demon Lightning! Your target is Ryu-Ran!"

Pegasus chuckled. "Trap card activate! Trap Displacement!"

_What?!_ thought the other Yugi. _She deflected my trap?!_

"Yes!" said Pegasus. "With this card, I can transfer the Spellbinding Circle from my monster to yours!" Now Summoned Skull had 1800 attack points, and Ryu-Ran's was back to 2200. "Your tactics are useless against me," said Pegasus. "Dragon Flame!" Summoned Skull was easily destroyed, leaving the other Yugi with 1400 life points. "My turn already…?" asked Pegasus.

_So_ this _is the Millennium Eye!_ thought the other Yugi. _There must be a way to beat her Mind Scan!_

"There's no way to beat it, Yugi," said Pegasus. "A game is a contest between two minds. But just like on a real-world battlefield, if you can master and understand your opponent's territory, you win. You don't have the power to even set foot in the territory of my mind, or even set foot in my game world. I will show you right now. My next card is Toon World!"

A giant book appeared on the field. When it opened up, many cartoonish creatures appeared from it.

"Attack, Toon Dragon Egg!" said Pegasus. "Kill the Stone Giant!" Ryu-Ran did exactly that. Afterwards, it retreated back into the book, which slammed shut. "I'll put the Mermaid Archer in attack mode and end my turn!"

_I can't attack her monsters while they're in that book,_ thought the other Yugi. _And if I play my monster in defense mode, it will only get killed!_ Out loud, the other Yugi said, "I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" No point in attacking. She remembered what happened when Kaiba attempted to attack Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon with her own Blue-Eyes. "I end my turn!" Would there be any way to win the duel? Pegasus knew all her strategies, all her tactics. Not even brute force would work.

"My turn!" said Pegasus. "I will play two facedown cards and end my turn!"

_Did she play a spell card and a trap card?_ wondered the other Yugi. _I can't beat her toons even if I play a more powerful monster. Plus she's probably set a trap…_ Out loud, she said, "I play the Imp in defense mode!" It had only 1000 defense points.

Pegasus chuckled. "Then I reveal this card! Gorgon's Eye!" The Imp turned to stone. "This is a continuous trap card!" she said. "All your defensive monsters will become lifeless statues from this point on! Furthermore, when your stone monsters are destroyed, half their defense points will be subtracted from your life points. In other works, unless you want to die quickly, you'll have to attack my toons every turn, even though you can't hurt me. And before I forget, I play the spell card Doppelganger! The Doppelganger will take the form of Summoned Skull!"

It did precisely that, resembling the Summoned Skull, but possessing far more cartoonish proportions.

"Toon World, open to the page called Evil Castle! Become the Toon Demon's lair! Toon Demon, attack! Destroy the stone Imp!" The other Yugi's life points were reduced to 900. Toon Summoned Skull laughed. "I end my turn."

The other Yugi drew a card.

_So you drew the Dark Magician,_ thought Pegasus. She chuckled.

_She knows what cards I've got. She knows what I'm planning… as long as Toon World is on the field, I can't damage her monsters, but I can't defend either! Is there any way that I can get out of this?_ wondered the other Yugi.

"No," said Pegasus. "You can't get out, and you can't win. I can sense your will to fight ebbing, dwindling. Well, Yugi? Do you wish to forfeit the duel?"

The other Yugi mentally growled.

"Yugi, don't give up!" said Honda. "You know what'll happen if you admit defeat! She'll put your soul in a card!"

"Not just you, Yugi!" said Ansei. "Your grandmother, even Kaiba and Mokuno! They'll be trapped in those cards forever!"

"I won't give up!" said the other Yugi. _It's true,_ thought the other Yugi. _My chance of winning is as close to zero as it can get. But people's will to live must be infinite!_ "I play Dark Magician in attack mode! And that's not all! I also play Magical Hats!" Using the two cards together might be able to break Pegasus' mind-reading… right?

"I see," said Pegasus. "You hid the Dark Magician in one of the Magical Hats. No doubt this is a way to buy time until you find a way to confront Toon World… but it's just as useless. Nothing you have can counter anything I could do." She chuckled. "Let me guess… you hid Dark Magician in the hat on the left."

_She read through it!_ thought the other Yugi. _Not even a Magical Hat combo works…_ She closed her eyes. _I can't find a way to beat her Millennium Eye! I can't do it! Isn't there a way to beat her?!_ Just then, she heard a faint voice in her head.

_Other me…_ This voice was similar to the other Yugi's, but sounding higher-pitched and less confident. _Can you hear my voice?_ This time, her voice was a bit clearer. _Other me!_ This voice, coming from inside her mind… it was her other self! She was calling her. She saw a vision. The hallway between their soul rooms.

"It's you!" said Yugi. This was the first time the other Yugi got to see her properly. For someone she had heard thinking of herself as short, she really wasn't any shorter than her.

"Yes," said the other Yugi.

"It's the first time that we met in our hearts like this. I can't believe it worked!" said Yugi. "Until now, my voice never reached you, no matter how loud I screamed… I could feel it when you were hurt in battle, but I couldn't do anything… but I finally reached you…"

The other Yugi looked at her in surprise. "Why did you call me…?" she asked.

Yugi was briefly silent, formulating the words she wanted to say. "Please, let me fight too! You can't beat Pegasus alone!" she said.

The other Yugi was also briefly silent. "But her Millennium Eye…" she said. "There's no way to fight it…"

"What if… what if Pegasus can only read one mind at a time?" suggested the other Yugi. "She can read you at the moment, but she can't read me!"

The other Yugi was stunned. "I see…" she said. "If Pegasus can only read one mind at a time, then maybe if we fight her with two minds… I need your help. Can you help me?"

"Sure!" said Yugi, beaming.

The other Yugi's vision returned to normal.

"Toon Summoned Skull! Kill her! Blow that hat to bits!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The Millennium Puzzle glowed for a second.

"The Magician is nothing but ash…" said Pegasus. But when the dust cleared… Yugi's demeanor had changed? Her mannerisms were just like when she wasn't dueling. _That can't be… what's going on?_ Surely she hadn't given up on the duel?

"I've changed my tactics. You _won't_ be reading my mind! Or should I say, _minds._ "

_Y-Yugi?!_ thought Pegasus. _Another mind?!_

"It's my turn!" said Yugi. She drew a card. "I'll play this card face-down and end my turn! Pegasus, can you tell what card I drew and played face-down? Try to read my mind! Then you'll know, right?"

"That's right," said Pegasus. "I'll know in an instant…" _Mind Scan!_ She tried to read Yugi's mind. Except… there was no image of the identity of the facedown card?

The other Yugi chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know what the card is. It's pointless to read my mind, Pegasus!"

_Her mind switched again…!_ thought Pegasus.

"Pegasus, it seems like it takes you some time for you to read your opponent's mind with your Eye," said the other Yugi. "I switched minds while you were scanning! That's the way to beat your Millennium Eye! Mind Shuffle!"

_Now all that's left is to figure out a way to conquer Pegasus' Toon World!_ thought Jounouchi.

"Come on, Pegasus!" said the other Yugi. "It's your turn!"

"I'm surprised that you came up with something like this," said Pegasus, "but as long as Toon World is on the board, your monsters can't attack me. All you can do is hide in your hats!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "Well, then, Pegasus," she said. "Let's see you think on your feet and counter my tactics! Or are you a coward who can't trust in your own skills unless you rely on your Millennium Eye?"

Pegasus chuckled. "Now that you mention it," she said, "it's been a while since I trusted my one instincts. Fine. I'll put Toon Summoned Skull in attack mode. Toon Skull Demon! Attack the middle hat!"

When the dust settled, there was nothing there.

The other Yugi chuckled. "Too bad," she said. "You're wrong again! Pegasus, as the creator of Duel Monsters, I'm sure you're aware that every game has a winner and a loser. What separates the two? I'll tell you. The good judgement needed to know the rules and assess the situation, and the instincts to decide when and how to act. Whoever has those two things wins. Judgement comes from experience and confidence. Instincts require even more confidence. You've relied on the Millennium Eye for too long. You've become smug and arrogant. You've lost the skill of a duelist! When it comes to real confidence, my partner is ten times better than you!"

Pegasus mentally growled.

"Here we go!" said the other Yugi. She let Yugi take over. Yugi drew a card. Living Arrow.

"I'll play this card face-down and end my turn!" she said. The other Yugi took back over.

_I don't know what cards my other self played,_ she thought, _but if_ she _chose them, I trust her judgement!_

"My turn…" said Pegasus, drawing a card. "My card is Magic Neutralizing Force! This card wipes out all of the opponent's magic! Your Magical Hats are no more!"

"No! Dark Magician is exposed!" said the other Yugi.

"Now do you understand, Yugi?" asked Pegasus. "Skilled duelists do not need instincts. They use their brains to win without taking risks. Come forth, Toon Demon! Blow her to pieces!"

"Now!" said Yugi, who had taken over. "I play my facedown card! Living Arrow!"

_What?!_ thought Pegasus.

"You didn't notice, did you, Pegasus?" asked Yugi. "While I was drawing cards, the other me was trying to provoke you! And once you got frustrated, you played a card that dispelled my Magical Hats! But that was just what we wanted! Because Living Arrow lets me transfer magic effects right back to you! We're using it to give back your Magic Neutralizing Force!"

"But it's too late!" said Pegasus. "You can't stop the Toon Demon's attack!"

"Sorry to spoil your plan," said Yugi, "but I played this face-down card, too! Mirror Force!" A barrier formed in front of Dark Magician, deflecting Toon Summoned Skull's attack right back at Pegasus. This, combined with Magic Neutralizing Force, destroyed Pegasus' Toon-based strategy. Pegasus' life points were now at 800.

"Did you see that, Bakura?" asked Jounouchi. "Yugi beat the Millennium Eye! No problem!"

_Can it really be_ that _simple?_ wondered Bakura. _I can't help but think Pegasus is keeping her best cards in reserve…_ That was how duels seemed to play out, usually.

"Wonderful!" said Pegasus. "No wonder you possess a Millennium Item. It looks like I played around too much… I guess now I must duel you with the power and respect you deserve. Yugi… from here on, it isn't just a battle between duelists, it's a battle between those who have been chosen by Millennium Items. It's a Shadow Game.

"I got the idea for Duel Monsters seven years ago, when I visited Egypt's Valley of the Kings," she said. "There's a legend that three thousand years ago, Egyptian magicians had the power to seal monsters in stone tablets and summon them to fight battles in the Pharaoh's court. The magicians eventually died out, and the magic stone tablets fell asleep deep below the Earth. But the legend was recorded in the Book of Thoth and passed down from generation to generation, eventually inspiring the tarot cards! It's said that all card games sprang from this source! I created Duel Monsters to bring this ancient game to modern times. And now that we each face a worthy opponent, I may be able to recreate the ancient battles at last! Now, the Shadow Game begins…"

Everything around the two turned dark.

_Heh heh…_ thought Pegasus. _From this point on, it's a wizards' battle! No normal mortal can endure it! How long can you take the pressure, Yugi?_

Yugi broke out into cold sweat.

_This Shadow Game is too hard on my other self!_ thought the other Yugi. She took over. _Other me! I'll draw the cards from now on!_

_But if we don't fight together, Pegasus' Millennium Eye will read your mind!_ said Yugi. _I'll be fine! Let me fight with you!_

_All right!_ said the other Yugi. _This is the final battle!_

_Okay!_ said Yugi.

"I'm going to play Dark-Eyes Illusionist!" said Pegasus. "In the Shadow Games, the players' willpower literally brings the monsters to life! But it cuts both ways! If you lose the game, if your willpower runs out, _you_ might die too!"

_Dark-Eyes Illusionist?! Zero attack and defense?! An illusion monster? I can't just charge in and attack it! It must have some effect!_ thought the other Yugi. "I'll play Curse of Dragon and end my turn!" Curse of Dragon had 2000 attack points and 1500 defense points.

Yugi took back over.

_Mind Shuffle…_ thought Pegasus. _A mistake! Yugi doesn't have the mental strength to endure this battle!_

Indeed, Yugi felt very tired. She felt a pain in her chest. She once again broke out in cold sweat.

_Hang in there, other me!_ said the other Yugi.

_Heh heh, I knew it,_ thought Pegasus. _This Yugi is merely a normal human. She'll soon wear down…_

"What's wrong with Yugi?!" asked Ansei.

"She looks like she's in pain!" said Honda.

"They said it was a Shadow Game, but it looks the same as before!" said Jounouchi. "What the heck's going on?"

"They're in a world that only they can see…" said Bakura. "That is a Shadow Game!"

"Hum de dum…" said Pegasus. "Well-ll then… I guess I'll play this card face-down and end my turn…"

_There's a limit to my other self's mental strength!_ thought the other Yugi. _I can't let this battle drag on!_ She took over. "I'll attack with the Accursed Dragon!" she said.

_Heh heh… you fell for it!_ thought Pegasus. _You rushed to protect your partner! That's what I was waiting for!_ "The Illusionist activates his special ability! Dark-Eyes Magic!"

The Accursed Dragon was paralyzed. A wdjat formed in front of it.

"In return for low attack and defense points," said Pegasus, "Illusionists possess special abilities. Dark-Eyes Illusionist can drain its enemies' power with its gaze! But the true terror of my illusions doesn't stop there… I'll play another monster! Black Illusion Ritual! I sacrifice two monsters to summon the Lord of Sacrifices, Relinquished!" Relinquished had 0 attack and defense points.

_A ritual monster!_ thought the other Yugi. Ritual monsters were monsters that were summoned from the hand by activating the corresponding ritual spell.

"Let me show you his unique power!" said Pegasus. "Dark Hole!"

A hole opened up in the… torso, you might call it, of the monster. Relinquished then sucked in Curse of Dragon.

"Dark Magician! Kill that thing!" said the other Yugi. "Black Magic!"

"Sacrifice Shield!" said Pegasus. Relinquished spat out Curse of Dragon. "Dark Magician destroys your own dragon!" This reduced the other Yugi's life points to 400. "By absorbing an enemy monster," explained Pegasus, "Relinquished gains its attack and defense values. And of course, attacking your own monster is the same as attacking yourself, so you get hurt! It's my turn!" She drew a card. "Lord of Sacrifices! Use the Dark-Eyes Magic! Capture the Magician with your evil eye, and then eat her, body and soul!"

The other Yugi could only stare as Relinquished absorbed Dark Magician. She made a sound of disgust. "You're using her as a shield!" she said.

"My endlessly adaptable demon now has the power of your Dark Magician!" said Pegasus. "If you attack, you'll just shed your own blood. What will you do, Yugi? This is my invincible illusion combo!"

The other Yugi broke out into cold sweat. _How do I beat that thing?_ she wondered. _I can't think of anything to do!_

_You can't give up!_ said Yugi. _If you just sit there, Pegasus will read your mind! I'll buy you some time to think of a plan!_

_No!_ said the other Yugi. _You’re too exhausted! You can’t risk it!_

_I want to fight to the end!_ said Yugi.

Yugi took back over. “I-it’s my turn…” she said, drawing a card.

"How sweet…" said Pegasus. "Your mind is fading away… all for your other self…"

_Please, let me draw a card that can beat Pegasus!_ thought Yugi, eyelids growing heavy from exhaustion. She looked at the card. "I'll… play a card face-down…" _Please, my other self…. use this card… beat Pegasus…_ "…I play Feral Imp… in defense mode…"

_This is it,_ thought Pegasus. _Now for the killing blow…_ "Are you ready, Relinquished? Illusion Magic Attack!" 

Relinquished fired off a magical blast. Yugi slumped over.

_Wake up!_ said the other Yugi. _Other me!_

"It looks like that 'other' Yugi, that useless roommate you share your body with, couldn't survive the Shadow Game…" said Pegasus. "Her soul is dead…"

"Yugi's soul is dead?!" asked Jounouchi. "…No way… you better shut your mouth, Pegasus!"

Jounouchi called Yugi's name in vain, trying to wake her up.

Finally, the other Yugi took back over. "Pegasus…" she said. "I will never forgive you!"

Pegasus chuckled. "But now that your other soul is gone, you can't do your 'Mind Shuffle' anymore…" she said. "Do you still intend to keep dueling?"

"There's no game over as long as my heart still beats!" said the other Yugi.

"The other Yugi isn't dead yet!" said Jounouchi.

"But Pegasus said her soul _died,_ right?" asked Honda.

"No!" said Jounouchi.

"Yugi told me something before," said Ansei. "As long as one Yugi's soul lives, the other one will live, too! They both exist together, or not at all!"

"Then that means Yugi's other soul is alive!" said Jounouchi. "But it might be on the verge of dying…"

"The game will go on," said Pegasus. _Mind Scan!_ She drew Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress. A common card with 1400 attack and 1200 defense…

_Pegasus knows all my cards,_ thought the other Yugi. _The only one she_ doesn't _know is the facedown card my other self played on the field… I'll have to bet everything on that card!_ "Winged Dragon! Defense mode!"

"Now it's my turn!" said Pegasus. "Lord of Sacrifices! Use the Dark-Eyes Magic! Absorb the Winged Dragon! Add its power to yours!" Now Relinquished had 3900 attack and 3300 defense. "And now, Jigen Bakudan!" Jigen had 200 attack and 1000 defense. Its effect destroyed all monsters on the field two turns after it was summoned. Furthermore, the opponent's monsters could not attack it. The other Yugi would be dead if it got its effect off. "Just try to beat my sacrifice combo!" said Pegasus. "Come on, Yugi! You've still got _one_ mind left!"

_There's no cards in my hand that can stop her!_ thought the other Yugi. _And even if there were, Pegasus knows all my cards! I'll have to draw a card… but Pegasus' Millennium Eye will see it at the same time I do… what do I do?_

_Nothing,_ thought Pegasus. _You can do nothing as long as I have the Millennium Eye… it's game over!_

The other Yugi closed her eyes, on the verge of giving up. She had a single tactic to overcome Pegasus' mind-reading. Hopefully it worked.

_Mind Scan! Heh heh… it's useless, Yugi!_ thought Pegasus. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Pegasus saw bits of the card, but the vital aspects were hidden by… Yugi and her friends? She gave the other Yugi a surprised look. 

Excellent. It worked. The other Yugi had decided to, instead of thinking about the duel when Pegasus was reading her mind, think of her friends. Pegasus could only read what was on her mind, which right now wasn't her cards. By shifting her mind's focus, she had rendered Pegasus unable to decipher her next card.

"Here I go!" said the other Yugi. "Mystic Box of Death! Dark Magician uses the box to teleport! She escapes from Relinquished and leaves Jigen Bakudan in her place! And now Jigen is absorbed!"

"But you forget!" said Pegasus. "Relinquished also has your Winged Dragon! If the time bomb explodes, taking even _one_ of your monsters, your life points will drop to zero! You are finished on your next turn!"

"We'll see about that!" said the other Yugi. She played another card. "Brain Control!" She took control of Relinquished.

"But it's too little, too late!" said Pegasus. "Jigen Bakudan will explode at this moment!"

"Hold on," said the other Yugi. "I have a facedown card, a card the other me left. Black Magic Ritual! Winged Dragon and Jigen Bakudan, give your lives so that a greater force may be freed. Rise, Magician of Black Chaos! This is our trump card!" Indeed, the Magician of Black Chaos had an impressive 2800 attack points and 2600 defense points to his name.

"But! On this turn, the Brain Control will wear off," said Pegasus. "On my next turn, Relinquished will absorb the Magician of Black Chaos and her power will be mine! Yugi, you can't beat me even if you play to your limits!"

The other Yugi drew a card, seeing as how Pegasus' Mind Scan failed a second time. "For my turn I'll play this card face-down! And I also play Kuriboh, in defense mode!"

_What?!_ thought Pegasus. _You're kidding! Kuriboh?! Somebody actually_ uses _that card on the field? And what is her new facedown card? Nonetheless, I have another trump card…_ "It's my turn! Your brainwashing wears off! Relinquished is mine once again!" Pegasus would absorb the Magician of Black Chaos, but she had a feeling that Yugi had prepared for that. "I'll play two facedown cards and power up Relinquished even more! I use Polymerization to fuse Relinquished and Thousand-Eyes Idol into the evil God of a Thousand Sacrifices, Thousand-Eyes Restrict! Yugi! This is the end of our duel! The last, greatest duel of Duelist Kingdom! And fate has ordained you a cruel defeat!"

"It's not over yet!" said the other Yugi.

Pegasus chuckled. "Now that Relinquished has become Thousand-Eyes Restrict, its power is more than the Magician of Black Chaos! And of course, compared to it, Kuriboh is nothing but a worm…"

_Even though it Polymerized,_ thought the other Yugi, _the enemy is a monster with no attack points. I know it'll try to absorb Magician of Black Chaos and take tis power! But I won't let it happen! I made a promise to the other me! I will beat Pegasus with this card!_ "I accept your challenge!" she said. "You can't break my promise to my other self!"

Pegasus chuckled. "This is the end!" she said. "Thousand-Eyes Restrict! Open your eyes! Thousand-Eyes Curse!" Indeed, all of the monster's eyes opened, paralyzing Magician of Black Chaos and Kuriboh. Pegasus chuckled. "As long as the Dark God's eyes are opened, your monsters will be paralyzed! The curse is a continuous spell card. All that's left for me to do is activate the central eye and suck your monsters into its maw! It's over, Yugi!"

"I activate a spell card!" said the other Yugi.

Pegasus laughed. "Your spell card won't matter! Your Magician will be just an organ floating in the body of Relinquished!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "We'll see about that…"

_What…?!_ thought Pegasus.

"You'll have to get through Kuriboh first – or rather, a thousand of them!" Indeed, there were countless little furballs floating in the air around the Magician of Black Chaos, blocking the light of the central eye. "Of course, now all the Kuribohs have been exposed to the light of the eye and will be absorbed into Relinquished…" She chuckled. "But that, too, is part of my plan. I'm sure you know one of the effects of the Kuriboh-Multiply combo. When one of them touches an enemy, it explodes!" Indeed, there were many tiny explosions. "With Kuriboh's death, I lose 300 life points, but your monster's thousand eyes are destroyed! And that means the Magician of Black Chaos is freed! Are you ready, Pegasus? Destructive Spell! Death Ultima! Thousand-Eyes Restrict dies!"

With that, the other Yugi won the duel.

"Pegasus, we win," said Yugi, who had taken back over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally had this chapter split into two. However, I changed my mind because I and a lot of the fanbase find it annoying when duels are split up into multiple chapters/episodes, and I wanted to keep the whole "all duels exist in a single dedicated chapter" thing I had going on consistent. This was inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series.
> 
> I also changed a thing here! Not so much changing the plot point, so much as clarifying it to make it make more sense. In the original version, what prevented Pegasus from reading Yugi's cards was some random psychic friendship thing that made no sense. I think this explanation not only makes more sense, but is canon, albeit not very well conveyed in either version of the duel.
> 
> And about Yugi's height. [It is](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Yugi_Mutou_\(manga\)) [canon](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Yugi_\(manga\)) that they are the same height in the anime and the manga. However, Yugi is always drawn shorter than Atem. I see this as a non-digetic visual difference (i.e., we the audience see it, but the in-universe characters don't) made to make it easier to differentiate between the two. Yugi is insecure about his height, so he's drawn shorter so that we the audience can subtly notice this. Unfortunately, this is often taken too literally by people. Conversely, Atem isn't insecure about his height, so we see him as the height Yugi actually is. The same thing about the non-digetic visual differences applies to Bakura and Malik and their counterparts (except in the dub in Dark Malik's case, Joey calls him "artichoke head" in the dub at one point).
> 
> The voice difference is probably digetic. This is supported by the fact that in most Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs, characters who share a body also share a voice actor. Also, in real life, people tend to speak with a relatively higher-pitched voice when they aren't confident, while speaking in a lower register when more confident. _Also_ also, in the manga, Anzu mentions falling for Atem's voice, which she can't believe is Yugi's, which _definitely_ suggests an in-universe difference.
> 
> I also made another change. In the manga, it's said that Yugi picks which hat Dark Magician goes into. The thing is, that's not how it works in the card game, nor does it really make sense. In the card game, you're supposed to shuffle the cards, the idea being that nobody involved knows which card is which. So my headcanon is that the duel arenas (and later on, the duel disks) randomize such things.


	60. Honor of the King's Left

_Me… lose… I, who hold the power of the Millennium Eye… I lost the very game I created?_

Yugi let out a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes. _Other me!_ she said. The two of them high-fived in her mind.

_We did it, partner!_ said the other Yugi.

With that, Yugi returned to reality.

"Heh," said Jounouchi. "Don't say anything, guys… I know what it's like."

"I felt Yugi's pain of fighting and joy of winning!" said Bakura.

"I feel like… we somehow fought alongside Yugi," said Honda. Ridiculous as that sounded.

"Yeah," said Ansei. "I'm happy."

_Goddamnit!_ thought Jounouchi. _They said everything I wanted to say!_

The other Yugi looked up at the others, smiling and giving a thumbs-up.

"Yugi did it! She won!" exclaimed Jounouchi.

"Yay!" said Bakura.

Pegasus slumped forward, face in her hands.

"Pegasus!" said the other Yugi. "You know what to do! Release the souls of Grandma, Kaiba, and Mokuno immediately!"

Pegasus was briefly silent. "Yes…" she said. "I'll keep my promise…" She held up the three cards.

"Ms. Pegasus…" said Saruwatari. Crocketts gulped.

Ansei was holding the camera when Sugako said, "Hoho… that's funny… something feels good…" The screen faded to black. Sugako was very confused. It felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. Was this what astral projection felt like?

"Look!" said Jounouchi. "Your grandmother disappeared from the screen!"

_Grandma! You're saved!_ thought the other Yugi, smiling. _The Kaiba sisters' souls are freed, too…_

"My men will get your prize ready," said Pegasus. "Don't worry. Using my Millennium Eye, I've seen the minds of all kinds of people, but never a person with two souls. So _that_ is the power of your Millennium Puzzle…"

"Who knows?" said the other Yugi. "Even _I_ don't know the full power of the Millennium Puzzle. But I feel some kind of force, some kind of will brought me and my other self together."

"You don't know about the evil power hidden in the Millennium Items?" asked Pegasus. "Not just an evil power, an evil intelligence. One that can bring out the darkest in their wielders…"

Bakura looked down at the two in shock.

"Pegasus!" said the other Yugi. "Where did you get it? And why? Tell me before I send you to oblivion!"

"To explain that," said Pegasus, "I must tell you about this man…" She pulled a picture out from the pocket of her jacket. The picture resembled the portrait from the hall, the one showing a blond man in a lavender suit. "Cynric… that was his name… he died seven years ago… my beloved Cynric… who left this world at the tender age of seventeen."

The others looked at him in surprise.

"I met him fourteen years ago," she said. "My father was immensely wealthy. He managed casinos in Las Vegas. At night, he would take my hand and attend fancy social functions. That is where I met Cynric, the son of my father's wealthy friend. Soon we were drawn to each other. We always talked about our dreams. I was going to become a famous painter and travel around the world. We swore to spent the rest of our lives together. But soon after I turned seventeen, Cynric died of illness. For months, I stared at the white canvas of my heart. The next thing I knew, I had traveled to Egypt. I had become interested in the ancient Egyptian beliefs about life after death, the idea that the souls in this world live eternally in the world to come. Five hundred kilometers from Cairo is the Valley of the Kings, not far from the Nile. A necropolis, a city of the dead, with the ruins of the ancient pharaohs' tombs. It was as if the yellow-brown desert was a reflection of my heart, but not even there did I see anything that could fill this blank canvas of my mind…" She paused.

"One day, I saw a man running. Somebody told him to stop, calling him a thief. He collapsed to the ground, begging them to let him go, and offered them their property back. I told them that if he stole the necklace he was carrying, that I would pay for it. I offered all my money. One of them looked right at me. She stared at me with a mysterious light in her eyes, and suddenly the desert seemed very cold. From her neck hung an ankh on a string."

"Shadi!" said the other Yugi. "That's her! There's no doubt!"

"Shadi? You know her?! I never knew her name…" said Pegasus.

"Don't stop! Keep talking!" said the other Yugi.

"I remember the woman said, 'If you wish to stay, do not flaunt your wealth, not in this land.' She explained that the man stole artifacts from a sacred place, and that the place, a village called Kul Elna, was created by grave robbers. She said that what I sought was not here, that this was not the place to heal the sadness of losing a loved one. Her words stayed with me, so I followed them in secret.

"They entered a house of sun-dried brick. But it lead to a place I couldn't have imagined from the outside. It was a hidden underground temple. The thief from earlier was on a dais, along with Shadi and the others. The thief apologized, but Shadi, oddly, said that he was _not_ condemned for stealing it, but that they needed to see if he was a chosen one, if the Ring, as she called it, would accept him as its bearer. The man put it on, but the moment he did, fire burst out of his eyes and mouth. It was an awful sight. Shadi explained that the Millennium Items were drawn to each other, like a puzzle, that they would be united in the tablet of the Pharaoh's memories."

_Tablet of the Pharaoh's memories?_ wondered the other Yugi.

"It was like the lid of a sarcophagus, but it had indentations, three of the seven having Millennium Items. A ring, a scale, and an eye." Moving her hair away from her left eye, she said, "Yes, it was the eye that I was to wear from that day forth. One of Shadi's men caught me. He demanded to know what I was doing here. Another one grabbed me as well. I yelled at them to let me go. Shadi said that I had seen something I shouldn't have, that the only way to leave was to be chosen as the bearer of a Millennium Item. She said that I would be tested by the Millennium Eye, and that if I was deemed worthy, I would be granted my dearest wish. She told me that I would see my beloved once more.

"Alas, she kept true to her word. I did indeed Cynric once more, but it only lasted a moment. The Millennium Eye had accepted me."

Later that day, the five gathered in Yugi's room, Honda having set Mokuno on the bed. The other Yugi stared off into the horizon from her balcony.

"You don't seem too happy about beating Pegasus," said Honda.

"Yeah, you didn't even give her a penalty game!" said Jounouchi.

"Pegasus is unforgivable," said Bakura, "but I feel sorry for her because of how she got the Millennium Eye…"

"When her lover died, that was the start of her tragedy," said Ansei. He looked over at Yugi. He remembered Pegasus' words. _Evil intelligence… if the other Yugi appeared in Yugi's heart because of the Millennium Puzzle, it must have been a shock to hear Pegasus say that… Yugi couldn't punish Pegasus, because that would be like accepting that Pegasus was right…_

_Who am I?_ wondered the other Yugi. _Where did I come from…?_ Could her origins have to do with the Millennium Items? If so, what did they have to do with them? Was it possible that she was a spirit, doomed to wander the Earth far longer than a mortal had any right to? Her soul room _did_ resemble an ancient Egyptian tomb… or perhaps she had once _been_ an evil intelligence, somehow redeemed by Yugi's mere presence. She once thought of herself as simply another part of Yugi, one so deeply repressed that when it manifested, it was like she had become another person. But now…? The first hint had been Yugi's distress at Death-T over her actions. It had been clear that Yugi, no matter what the situation, did _not_ want to ever do what she had done. Then Duelist Kingdom, with her duel against Kaiba… it had been Yugi who stopped her. Perhaps…

The other Yugi was drawn out of her thoughts when Honda exclaimed, "Mokuno's awake!" She turned towards the others, Mokuno's eyes were indeed open, and her expression was not vacant like before.

"Y-you guys…" said Mokuno. "A… am I…?!" Was she dead? Was this some kind of afterlife?

"It's okay!" said Ansei. "Yugi beat Pegasus! And KaibaCorp's safe, too! So don't worry!"

"Yugi saved me…?" asked Mokuno.

"No just me," said the other Yugi. "We _all_ did."

Suddenly, Mokuno realized something. "I can't just lie here!" she said. "I have to go home and take care of my sister!" She leapt off the bed. "Get outta my way!"

"Mokuno, your sister is on this island!" said the other Yugi.

"What?!" asked Mokuno. _Setomi's here!_ she thought.

"Yes," said the other Yugi.

"My sister…" she murmured. After it finally registered, she asked, "Wh-where is she?!"

Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Saruwatari was unlocking one of the cells. "Come out," he said. "It's all over. You're free."

Kaiba sat up straight. Saruwatari walked off. Kaiba stood up. She exited the cell, taking a left. She ascended the spiral staircase. This place was going to be hell to navigate, especially since she had no idea where Mokuno was, but she would find her. No matter what.

Meanwhile, back at the door to Yugi's room, Crocketts was walking down the hall. He spotted Jounouchi. "Excuse me, is Yugi here?" he asked.

The other Yugi left the room upon hearing this. She walked up to Crocketts.

"Here's the prize, as promised!" said Saruwatari, handing her the envelope, with a check for the prize money. "And one more thing. Can you return this to Kaiba? This is the case with her Duel Disk devices."

The other Yugi took the briefcase. It was heavy, and made of cold metal.

"Yugi, if you want to know why Ms. Pegasus was trying to take over KaibaCorp, I believe it was all for that Duel Disk. Kaiba Corporation developed the Virtual Simulator that makes Duel Monsters cards appear as 3D holograms. But the Duel Disk's Solid Vision technology has even more potential applications. Ms. Pegasus wanted the technology to make the visions more and more lifelike, starting with human-sized holograms. Perhaps Ms. Pegasus was forever chasing the illusion of her lover…"

The other Yugi was silent.

The six eventually left the castle to wait for Kaiba. It was taking quite a long time.

Mokuno looked around anxiously. "S-Sister…" She growled. "Where _is_ she?! Is she really on this island?!" Yugi had _better_ not have been lying to her!

"We looked around, but we couldn't find her…" said Honda.

"Maybe Kaiba's soul was summoned to heaven," said Jounouchi, snorting.

"Jounouchi, don't make jokes like that!" said Ansei. Then, he realized something. "Hey, where did Bakura go?"

"She's probably still lookin' for Kaiba in the castle," said Jounouchi.

The other Yugi spotted something, or rather, some _one,_ as did Mokuno. At the top of the stairs was none other than Kaiba.

Mokuno ran up the stairs in tears, saying, "Setomi!"

"Mokuno!" said Kaiba.

The two hugged each other, for a good while.

"For Kaiba, Mokuno was the final piece…" said Ansei.

"Maybe the puzzle of her heart is complete at last," said the other Yugi.

"Aw geez…" muttered Jounouchi. "They're so… so sisterly, I just can't hate 'em… those jerks!"

"And you got the prize money, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "You can pay for your brother's operation!"

Jounouchi was briefly silent. "Yugi…" she said. "Is it really okay if I take this money?" She had stolen Yugi's lunch money so many times before all this happened… did she deserve _anything_ that had rightfully been Yugi's?

"It is!" said the other Yugi. "You were the _real_ champion of Duelist Kingdom!"

"Yugi…" said Jounouchi. "I owe you big time."

"Jounouchi…" said the other Yugi. "For us, the real test has just begun. Someday, until the day you beat me, you can owe me one!" Just then, she felt the presence of her other self, seemingly right next to her.

_My other self, it doesn't matter where you came from,_ said Yugi. _What matters is that I'm glad you're here! You mean a lot to me… and they all feel the same way!_

The other Yugi smiled at Yugi, who in turn beamed brightly.

Meanwhile, deep within the castle…

"Take this replica Eye with you to hell," said the other Bakura. She had gouged out the Millennium Eye from Pegasus' eye socket. Pegasus was bleeding profusely from the socket, and the Eye itself was covered in massive amounts of blood.

Pegasus was grateful she had trained up two potential successors to her position at Industrial Illusions, but who was going to recover those three missing cards…? They could be dangerous in the wrong hands…

The other Bakura laughed. "Two down, five to go…" she murmured. She licked the Millennium Eye clean, so as to avert suspicion. If anyone spotted it, they would assume it was the replica she asked for earlier. She made her way to the front of the castle, where the others awaited.

Meanwhile, back outside the castle, Kaiba and Mokuno had separated.

"Kaiba, take care of Mokuno, all right?" asked Yugi.

"Yugi…" said Kaiba. She sighed a bit. "I owe you one for saving Mokuno," she begrudgingly admitted. "But tell the other Yugi that our battle isn't over yet! Not until the day I beat you in a true battle!" She had to admit, threatening suicide was _not_ the honorable way to win. Regardless of whether it was justified or not, that win didn't count in her book. She turned to Mokuno. "Let's go, Mokuno!" she said.

Mokuno followed her sister, but looked back. Did Yugi and her friends have a way back?

"Hey guys!" said Bakura.

"Bakura!" said Jounouchi. "Where the heck were you?"

"By the way," said Bakura, "there's no boats on this island! I looked out from the castle, but I didn't see any…"

"What?!" asked Jounouchi. "How're we getting off this island, then?!"

"Hey, Setomi," said Mokuno. "Let's let them ride the helicopter, too… please?"

"What?!" asked Kaiba. Of all requests… why this one?! The helicopter could only fit so many people! She didn't even _know_ them!

"They don't have a way back," said Mokuno.

Kaiba growled. "All right," she said. Well, it wasn't like she could duel Yugi when she was in Domino City and Yugi was on the island… not with 1996 technology, anyway…

Meanwhile, Maiku sat at the edge of the island. "Aggh! Dammit! How am I supposed to go home without a boat?!" Just then, he heard a chopping noise. He turned around. It was a helicopter, emblazoned with the KaibaCorp logo. "Hey!" he said, chasing after the helicopter.

"You guys better thank my sister for letting you come!" said Mokuno.

Kaiba gritted her teeth. It was pretty damn crowded on the helicopter, and it didn't help her headache that _these_ particular people were so chatty!

"I don't think it's made for this many people…" said Yugi.

Kaiba growled. "Once we're back on the mainland, we're even! Got it?!" There had better not be anyone _else_ in need of a lift…

"Hey! You guys!" yelled Maiku. "Take me with you!"

"Whoa!" said Jounouchi. She kicked down the rope ladder. "Grab on!"

Maiku did just that, just before the helicopter made its way above the ocean. Jounouchi nearly fell out, yelling as she desperately gripped the rope ladder. Honda, thankfully, caught her. "Hang on, Jounouchi!" said Honda.

Kaiba took a deep breath in, then out. This was going to be one damn long helicopter ride…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! The conclusion of the Duelist Kingdom arc! I think it turned out well, but I wish I could have changed some more. Oh well. There's going to be more changes in the Battle City arc. But first, I'm going to adapt an anime filler arc! Don't worry, it's only going to be six chapters. It's going to explain what happened to the Big Five, which is important because I'm adapting the Virtual World arc!
> 
> And yes, I realize Cynric might be a stupid name. But the original name I had was Cyrus... a different spelling of **S** yrus, the dub name of a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX character! Granted, I won't use dub names in any of my non-Abridged Yu-Gi-Oh! fics, nor base any genderbent names off of them in the same situation, unless I somehow find the dub name to be better, but it's still a bit too close...


	61. Into Another World

It was a rainy day in Domino City. Thunder struck.

Kaiba and Mokuno were in a conference room with the Big Five.

"I bet you never imagined that you'd see me again," said Kaiba. "I know that you teamed up with Pegasus to take over Kaiba Corporation."

"That's right!" said Mokuno. "It's your fault that we had our souls stolen!"

"I'll never forgive your actions," said Kaiba. "I will fire you all immediately!"

"W-wait a second!" said one of them, a balding, elderly man named Konosuke Oshita.

"You're acting pathetic!" said Kaiba.

"It all began when you lost against Yugi Muto," said the man.

"What?" asked Kaiba. Well, this was absurd.

"Ms. Kaiba, we teamed up with Pegasus in order to regain the public's trust in our company," said another one of the Big Five, a dark-haired man with glasses named Chikuzen Ooka.

"That's right," said Oshita. "As proof, we even developed a new adventure game based on Duel Monsters."

Kaiba and Mokuno were taken aback. "Adventure game?" asked Mokuno.

"Ms. Kaiba, let's play a game with our jobs on the line," said Oshita. "If you clear the game, we lose. But if you _don't_ clear it, we're not fired."

"I see," said Kaiba. "You're issuing a challenge. Fine."

Mokuno looked up at Kaiba in surprise. "Setomi?" Why would she agree to such a thing?

"When challenged to a game, I don't run away," said Kaiba.

With that, Kaiba left the room, Mokuno giving chase, in a vain attempt to stop her. The two went into an elevator.

"Why did you agree?" asked Mokuno. "This is a trap!"

"I know that," said Kaiba.

"Then why?" asked Mokuno.

"Even if I force them out," said Kaiba, "they'll think of a plan for revenge."

The two heard a "ding!" sound, indicating that the elevator had stopped at their destination. They left the elevator.

"I'll crush them completely and show them my strength!" said Kaiba. The two walked to a room, the lights turning on as they approached the center of the room. In the middle of the room was a dais with a pod designed for a person to sit down in. There were two identical devices near the top of the part the user was meant to go in, designed to go on either side of their head. There were cords extending out from the dais, connecting to machinery along the walls of the room. This was a prototype of the virtual reality machine that Kaiba was making. She eventually hoped to get it to the point that it would be a headset, but even with her skill in engineering, it would probably take a few decades to get there.

Kaiba approached the pod, then sat down in it. Headphones extended out from the devices, covering her ears, and a curved screen extended out from behind to cover her eyes. Restraints extended out to cover her shoulders, so as to keep the fit of the pod snug. A compartment slid out, and a robotic voice requested for the user to insert their deck into it. Kaiba reached into a pocket of her coat for her deck, then put it into the compartment. The compartment closed, followed by the canopy of the pod.

Mokuno watched this, worried. "Setomi, it's dangerous to go alone," she said.

"Don't be afraid," said Kaiba. "Start the game up."

"Setomi…" said Mokuno.

"I promise that I will win," said Kaiba.

With that, Mokuno pulled down a switch at one of the machines, shutting her eyes.

Kaiba witnessed a rather surreal sight. The skybox was black, with some dark blue clouds. Many small green spheres of light seemed to rush past her, or was she rushing past them? Eventually, the skybox brightened, until she could only see white. That didn't last long, however. Kaiba then fell from the sky, noticing clouds as she did so. She ended up falling into a forest, on one knee. She was grateful this was a video game, and not real life. In this game, players did not take fall damage.

She took a look at her surroundings. There were many bushes and pine trees, with darkness up ahead, and some mild fog meant to disguise a low render distance at this point in the game. She felt something on her arm. She stood up and took a look at it. A Duel Disk. Her deck was in it. She walked straight forward.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Mokuno witnessed this on a screen. The screen was not as advanced as the pod, so it represented players' progress as a sprite of them walking on a straight path, from the right to the left. She had to admit, even if it was the Big Five who had made it, that the sprites were adorable.

Back in the game, Kaiba stopped. She saw a monster. Two-Headed King Rex. 1600 attack points.

"You think this simple game can defeat me?" she asked to no one in particular. She drew a card. "Come out, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" A glowing yellow light appeared, eventually settling on the form of the aforementioned dragon. "Burst Stream of Destruction!" It easily destroyed Two-Headed King Rex. She wondered if Blue-Eyes would stay with her the whole game or disappear after it had done its job.

But much to Kaiba's surprise, a creature flew in, dropping a Trap Card. The card eventually took on the form of…

"Dragon Capture Jar?" The Jar's eyes glowed purple, as a beam of light shot out of the top. Blue-Eyes White Dragon put up a fight, but in the end was sucked in. Kaiba hated that card.

Kaiba looked over to her right. It was Armed Ninja. He threw a net over Kaiba.

In the real world, the screen Mokuno was watching glowed a bright yellow, along with the pod, as Kaiba made sounds and movements that suggested fighting against restraints.

Mokuno rushed over to the pod, pressing a button to open the canopy. "Setomi!" she cried out. "Setomi, wake up!" No use.

Just then, she heard the mechanical doors close.

"Her consciousness had been turned into data and trapped inside the game." Mokuno turned around.

"Say what?"

On two screens, she saw Ooka's face. "Unless she clears the game," said Ooka, "Kaiba's consciousness will be stuck in the virtual world forever."

"Kaiba Corporation now belongs to us," said Oshita.

"Exactly," said another, one whose name Mokuno did not know.

"Mokuno, we'll imprison you too," said Oshita. He chuckled menacingly.

Mokuno looked back at Kaiba. "Setomi…" she said.

Outside the room, Saruwatari and two other security guards ran up to the doors.

Back in the room, Mokuno pressed a button to open the deck compartment in the pod. It was clear that her sister had gone unconscious, and the program had already scanned the data from the chips in the cards, so she would not be in need of the physical deck. Now, to formulate her plan.

Saruwatari opened the door, and ducked in while it was still opening. He looked around. "Where's Mokuno?" he asked. He looked up. The covering for the ventilation shaft was hanging off the corner of the metal frame surrounding the opening. Mokuno had escaped.

"Damn! That's…"

"She got away!"

Saruwatari spoke into his handheld radio. "Mokuno has escaped," he said.

"You fools!" said Oshita. "Find her immediately!"

The guards ran off to do exactly that.

Ooka chuckled. "Don't get flustered," he said. "Mokuno will definitely return." After all, from watching the room through the surveillance cameras, he figured out that she wanted to rescue Kaiba.

"What?" asked Oshita.

"Such a brave younger sister would never leave her behind," said Ooka.

"But you don't know for sure," said Oshita.

"And no matter who arrives, this game is impossible to clear," said Ooka. After all, it was meant as an arcade-style game, that one was not supposed to clear on their first try.

Mokuno ran for the one place she knew she could find help. The Kame Game Shop.

"Look! I have new cards in stock!" said Sugako.

"Let me see!" said Jounouchi.

Just then, the five heard the door open. Yugi, Ansei, Jounouchi, and Honda turned around, while Sugako looked past Jounouchi.

It was Mokuno, out of breath, with soaked clothes.

"Yugi…" she said.

"Mokuno?" asked Yugi.

They decided to dry her off and let her catch her breath before she explained the situation.

"Kaiba is trapped inside an adventure game world?" asked Yugi.

"And if she loses, she can never leave?" asked Ansei. "That's no game!"

"Yugi, please save my sister," said Mokuno.

"But since Kaiba Corporation's executives are involved, this will be difficult," said Sugako.

"My sister's dream is to build Kaiba Lands around the world to make children happy," said Mokuno.

"That's _really_ Kaiba's dream?" asked Jounouchi. She was honestly surprised. It didn't make Kaiba any less horrid to deal with, though.

Mokuno nodded. "It's true," she said. "That's why she devoted her whole life to Kaiba Corporation." Her eye teared up. "She never had time to relax…"

"Don't worry, Mokuno," said Jounouchi. "We didn't say that we wouldn't help."

"Yeah!" said Mokuno. "We know how strong your bond is with Kaiba!"

"Yugi…" said Mokuno. She smiled.

With that, Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Honda left the shop, opening umbrellas as they walked through the door.

"We're going, Grandma!" said Yugi.

But Mokuno stayed at the door a bit. "I'm going, too!" she said, running off after them, also holding an umbrella.

Sugako watched the five run off. "When did you grow so strong, Yugi?" she asked to herself.

Eventually, the five made it to Kaiba Land.

"The Big Five has taken control of Kaiba Corporation," explained Mokuno.

"What should we do?" asked Jounouchi.

"I heard them say that Kaiba Land's simulator has the same program," said Mokuno. The virtual reality machines KaibaCorp had been working on had internet capabilities, so perhaps they could help! She climbed the metal gate blocking the five from entering the theme park. She dropped to the ground on the other side, then opened the gate. The five rushed across the park to a building with the game's logo. There was a rope with a sign saying, "Keep out," which the five each lifted up so as to get further into the building.

They entered a room full of pods, much like Kaiba's prototype, but in a much more finished state. "There it is," said Mokuno. There were three pods. In contrast to the plain grays of Kaiba's prototype, these pods were painted bright purple, with yellow stripes on the back side and teal accents on the seat where the user was meant to sit.

Mokuno rushed over behind some machinery made to activate the pods. She pressed some buttons. "It's functional!" she said. "We can access it!"

"Only three of us can go, though," said Jounouchi. "Me, Yugi, and – "

"The last one is – "

"I'm going," said Mokuno, interrupting Honda's sentence.

"Mokuno?" asked Yugi.

"If you lose the game, you can never come back!" said Jounouchi.

"There's no point living in a world without my sister!" said Mokuno.

"Mokuno…" said Jounouchi. She inhaled, then exhaled. "That settles it. Honda, you stay behind."

"Promise that you'll come back," Ansei requested.

"Don't worry," said Jounouchi.

"I promise that we'll return, with Kaiba," said Yugi.

"Honda, do it," said Jounouchi.

"All right!" said Honda. "Here it goes!"

With that, the pod start-up sequence started.

"I believe in you," said Honda, pulling the lever.

Meanwhile, at Kaiba Corporation, the Big Five were watching a screen with a map. A red square, representing the Adventure Game building, was flashing, with a beeping sound.

"She really came back," said Ooka.

"Mokuno brought Yugi Mutou," said Oshita.

"Saruwatari, go to Kaiba Land and trap Yugi and Mokuno inside the game world," said Ooka.

Meanwhile, in the game, Yugi made note of the Duel Disk she was now wielding. "I wonder if this world has a connection with Duel Monsters," she said. After all, the pods had instructed the three to put their decks into these compartments… "We don't know the rules of this world, so we need to be careful."

"I know," said Jounouchi. She, too, had played her share of video games, moreso now since she started visiting Yugi's place.

Eventually, the three approached a cliff.

"Where are we?" asked Mokuno. At the bottom of the cliff was a cemetary, gravestones haphazardly arranged.

The three made their way below the cliff face, and walked through this disorganized graveyard.

"I don't think we can pass through here scot-free," said Yugi.

"I've seen this place before," said Jounouchi.

Suddenly, cracks formed in the ground, startling Jounouchi. She stopped, then took a look to her left. An undead samurai arose from the ground.

"It's a zombie!" yelled Jounouchi, panicked.

Yugi and Mokuno turned around. Two more monsters accompanied the samurai, namely a clown and a dragon.

Jounouchi backed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this miniarc! A bit of a different formula! Definitely more action-y than Duelist Kingdom! I think the change of pace is good! The only bad thing I have to say regarding my fic's version of events is the fact that it'll be _six chapters,_ rather than the anime's three episodes, because of the fact that I like to keep the chapters fairly short (~10 pages in Microsoft Word, assuming blank lines between paragraphs for readability). As it turns out, one non-traditional-dueling episode of the anime translates to two fic chapters the way I like to write! I think the reason why is because duels don't take as much text to adapt into a text-based medium, as the characters' actions within the game can be conveyed by only dialogue adequately, whereas with non-duel-related actions, you have to describe the actions _and_ what the characters are saying as separate things.
> 
> Also, I think this arc and the Virtual World arc can be described as isekai arcs. Isekai being an anime genre translating as "another world," where, [as the name suggests,](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) the characters go into another world. It's not always literal, though. If the primary setting is a virtual reality game, it still counts as isekai. Which means VRAINS technically counts as one...
> 
> Also, yes, I am aware that the DSOD Duel Disks exist. However, a), those are holograms, and b), those are more like augmented reality than virtual reality. And yeah, I'm willing to take some liberties with Duel Disk technology here and there, because that's fictional technology and Yu-Gi-Oh! isn't exactly realistic in regards to its fictional technology.
> 
> You'll probably also see me working in some gaming/game development jargon where I can. Because I am very passionate about and am knowledgeable about video games, and I thought it would be cool to use them to describe in-universe video games.
> 
> Some fun trivia! I mentioned the fog disguising a low render distance. That was inspired by the development of the Silent Hill games! The fog that the game is known for started from the first game, because of technical limitations. The render distance was short, so to disguise it, the developers included fog, which had the bonus of adding to the creepy atmosphere! The render distance in the forest is shorter than the rest of the game to save on resources in-game, as game developers often do.
> 
> Also, the chips in the cards were inspired by real-life amiibo cards! The reason amiibo are able to be scanned is the chips in the bases of the figurines, which means that an amiibo card is simply a two-layer card with the chip in-between! My headcanon is that chips in the cards are the reason why a), the holographic devices used throughout the series can even scan the cards in the first place, b), how Yugi and Judai's Duel Disks are able to register cards that didn't exist when they were made in Bonds Beyond Time, and c), why it's so difficult to make fake Duel Monsters cards that work with the Duel Disks, as is stated in the Battle City arc.
> 
> I also went with the explanation that the game is supposed to be difficult enough that most don't clear it on their first try because [it is possible to make a game unbeatable,](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnwinnableByDesign) though nowadays rarely on purpose. This game was likely meant to be played by the public, seeing as how there are machines for the same game at Kaiba Land.
> 
> As for online multiplayer brought up here? [The first online multiplayer game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_Kesmai) was released in 1984. Granted, it was a text-based game, but considering that this arc has 3D, surprisingly realistic VR in 1996, I think internet capabilities aren't too much of a stretch from what we have in canon. Certainly less of a stretch than assuming that there are underground cords connecting the machine at KaibaCorp to the machines at Kaiba Land!
> 
> Also, my headcanon is that Yugi owns a Super Famicom, and possibly still has their old Famicom. For anyone confused, that's the Japanese version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Famicom being the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System.


	62. The Town

"Clown Zombie, Armored Zombie, and Dragon Zombie?" asked Jounouchi. She had bad memories of those three. The monsters' attack and defense points showed up as text boxes in front of them. The dragon had 1600 attack points, the samurai 1500, and the clown 1350. None of them had any defense whatsoever. "In that case," she said, drawing a card, "how do I do this?"

The three monsters charged at them.

"Go, Rude Kaiser! I choose you!" said Mokuno. She leapt backwards to make room for the monster.

"Come out, Dark Magician!" said Yugi, also leaping backwards.

"Attack!" they both said.

Rude Kaiser attacked the Dragon Zombie, easily destroying it with its sword.

Dark Magician fired a magical blast at the other two monsters, destroying both at the same time.

"You just have to tell them to attack?" asked Jounouchi, shocked.

The monsters, unfortunately, reformed.

"Give up already!" said Jounouchi, drawing a card. She leapt backwards. "Go, Flame Swordsman! Flaming Battle Sword!"

The text boxes showed up again. The Armored Zombie now had 1650 attack points, the clown had 1450 attack points, and the dragon had 1760 attack points, but they still easily went down to the Flame Swordsman.

"Oh no!" said Yugi. "Stop your attack, Jounouchi!"

But it was too late. Flame Swordsman struck Zombie Dragon, which reformed behind him. Flame Swordsman turned around to see the newly-revived dragon. It fired its breath at the Flame Swordsman. The twice-revived dragon now had 1920 attack points.

"It seems a zombie here gains attack points every time it resurrects," said Yugi. "They're immortal. Jounouchi, remember your battle against Kozuka at Duelist Kingdom. You know how to defeat zombies."

The three monsters inched a bit closer.

"Oh yeah!" said Jounouchi. "I activate Shield and Sword!"

The monsters' forms went shaky for a while, before their attack and defense were reversed.

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "Now's your chance!"

"Go, Dark Magician!" said Yugi. "Black Magic!" Dark Magician easily destroyed all three monsters. The monsters did not revive.

"We did it!" said the three, jumping for joy.

Suddenly, three cards appeared, floating in the air. Yugi grabbed one. "There's a picture of gold coins," said Mokuno, who grabbed another.

"It's this world's money," said Yugi. The number on each card (five, in this case) probably indicated the amount of money obtained.

"I didn't regain my life points!" said Jounouchi. Indeed, she only had 1820 life points, indicated on her Duel Disk. This showed up as another text box.

"I see," said Mokuno. "This represents our life."

"Damn it!" said Jounouchi. "What happens if it reaches zero?" Suddenly, she looked up.

Peeking out from behind one of the gravestones was a tiny fairy, based on the Duel Monster, Key Mace. She giggled, then vanished. She then popped back up.

Yugi and Jounouchi went behind the grave.

"A fairy?" asked Yugi.

"In video games, fairies usually help the player," said Jounouchi. She hoped it would be like in The Legend of Zelda and the fairy would heal her life points.

Suddenly, the fairy flew off.

"Hey, wait!" said Jounouchi, chasing after it. Yugi and Mokuno followed.

They followed the fairy to a cliff at the edge of the woods.

"Huh?" asked Jounouchi. "I lost sight of it." Indeed, the fairy was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, Mokuno spotted something. She ran to a particular part of the cliff.

"What is it, Mokuno?" asked Yugi, who ran up to her along with Jounouchi.

"It's a town," said Jounouchi.

The three climbed down the cliff and made their way to the town.

They walked past a balding old man. Jounouchi turned her head to her left. "This is what they eat?" she asked to herself. "This" being a bunch of what appeared to be dead lizards. She seriously hoped that those were potion ingredients or something.

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

Jounouchi turned her head back forward. Up ahead, she saw several Ritual monster cards, framed. She walked up to one in particular. "It's a super-rare card!" she exclaimed. "I'm buying it!"

"You can't," said Mokuno. "Look at the price."

Jounouchi looked down. 2000 gold. Between the three of them, they had a measly 15. "I can't afford it…" she said.

"Let's hurry up and find my big sister instead," said Mokuno.

"Yeah," said Yugi.

"Okay, let's split up and gather information," said Jounouchi.

The three went around the town, asking all the NPCs questions on where to go. After all, that was what you did in RPGs, aside from dungeon-crawling. Yugi asked a lot of people in general, Mokuno asked a lot of children, even playing games with some of them, and Jounouchi ended up, rather unexpectedly, doing a lot of meditating with monks. Yugi got kicked out of a bar at one point because nobody would believe that she really was sixteen and not twelve, and Jounouchi got chased by a couple of NPCs' loose dogs at one point. Eventually, the three gathered back at the fountain in the middle of town.

"Did you learn anything?" asked Yugi.

"Except for the fact that some people apparently can't keep their dogs in their houses, not at all," said Jounouchi, who currently had her butt between one of the dogs' teeth. It eventually let go and ran off.

"I learned a lot of stuff," said Mokuno. "This morning, someone transporting a person inside a cage went to Owess Temple."

"Could it be Kaiba?" asked Jounouchi, who had managed to get the dog away from her.

"Probably!" said Yugi.

"In order to get to Owess Temple, we have to cross this desert," explained Mokuno.

"Easier said than done," said Jounouchi.

Suddenly, Mokuno ran forward.

"Mokuno!" said Yugi.

Jounouchi gave chase after the other two.

The two made it far into the desert. Winds blew at their faces, forcing Yugi and Jounouchi to cover their mouths with their arms and Mokuno to adjust her bandana so it covered hers.

"This is impossible!" complained Jounouchi.

"Let's go back, Mokuno!" said Yugi.

"Be quiet!" said Mokuno. "I have to find my big sister." Just then, the three spotted something.

"What's that?" asked Jounouchi.

"A tornado!" said Yugi.

The tornado approached them. They simply shut their eyes and covered their faces with their arms. They blacked out.

Yugi heard a voice. "Yugi, are you okay? Yugi?" She opened her eyes. She sat up. The voice had been Jounouchi's.

"Where are we?" asked Yugi.

"We were blown back to town," explained Jounouchi. This was another annoying facet of video games.

Yugi looked around, spotting Mokuno crouched down, facing away from the town. "Mokuno," she said. She heard laughter. She turned towards the source. It was an NPC, an old man.

"Do you wish to cross the desert?" he asked.

Yugi and Jounouchi ran up to the porch he was sitting at. "Old man, do you know how?" asked Jounouchi.

"You need a Niwatori card to cross the desert," explained the old man.

"Niwatori?" asked Jounouchi. Suddenly, she remembered what it looked like. A fat, bird-like creature with three toes, a beak, and spines that started on the top of its head and traveled down to the tip of its tail. It had 900 attack points and 800 defense points.

"Sir, how can we acquire that card?" asked Yugi.

The old man repeated himself.

"We heard you the first time," said Jounouchi.

The old man repeated himself again.

Jounouchi looked down at the ground, scratching the back of her head with both hands in frustration with the old man's cryptic hints. "His dialogue repeats." This really _was_ a video game, it seemed.

"So we can't leave this town without a Niwatori card," said Mokuno.

"Let's split up again and find it," said Yugi. "It must be here somewhere!"

Meanwhile, in the real world, a group of five security guards stood outside Kaiba Land.

"Yugi Mutou, we won't let you rescue Setomi Kaiba," said Saruwatari.

Inside the Adventure Game building…

"A lot of time has passed already," said Ansei.

"Stay patient," said Honda. "Yugi may be a gaming genius, but she can't clear the game _that_ quickly." Yugi may have been many things, but a speedrunner was not one of them. Especially not a blind speedrunner.

"You're right, but…" said Ansei.

"I know!" said Honda. "To pass the time, I'll tell a story! The title is 'Hiroko Honda's First Love During Middle School.'"

"I _definitely_ don't want to hear this story…" said Ansei.

"Really?" asked Honda. "How about my elementary school graduation speech about wanting to become a pilot?"

"Do you seriously not realize the danger we're in?" asked Ansei.

Just then, the door opened. The two looked out the door. At the end of the hallway were five figures.

"It seems we have enemies in this world, too," said Honda. "Ansei, let's lock the door and build a barricade."

"Okay," said Ansei.

Back in the game world, Yugi, Jounouchi, and Mokuno were at the fountain.

"It's no good," said Jounouchi. "I can't find one anywhere."

"I went to all the shops in town," said Mokuno.

"Maybe this game has a bug," said Jounouchi. _Or it's actually unwinnable…_

"Let's search again," said Yugi. Suddenly, she spotted something and ran off to her left.

"What is it, Yugi?" asked Jounouchi.

"I found it!" said Yugi.

"What?" asked Jounouchi.

The "it" in question was Niwatori. Or rather, a sign that had a picture of the card. Alongside it was a picture of what appeared to be a flat-chested blond woman in a corset, miniskirt, boots, a butterfly mask, and a cape, wielding a whip. Typical RPG impractical not-armor.

Mokuno read the sign out loud. "Want to risk your life and challenge the champion? The winning prize is a Niwatori card. We're waiting for you to try."

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "We found it!"

The three headed over to an arena. They entered, finding a counter with an anthropomorphic frog NPC behind the counter.

"What?" he asked. "You want to challenge to champion? Oh my, such brave youngsters. The champion is so strong that we were having trouble finding challengers." He stuck out his frog-like tongue, eating the fly that had been buzzing around while they were talking. The three looked at this sight with slight disgust. "It's decided!" the frog-man continued. "We'll begin the match immediately! Wear this mask and cape." The mask, which would fully encapsulate the wearer's head, resembled a pig's head, and the cape was green.

"Is it really that dangerous?" asked Yugi.

"All you have to do is battle until your life points reach zero," said the frog-man.

"Until they reach zero?" This was a death match!

"I'll enter," said Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

"If your life points reach zero, there's no guarantee that you can leave this world," said Jounouchi.

"In that case, since you've already lost life points…"

"Don't be dumb!" said Jounouchi. "It doesn't matter if I'm here or not. But without you, we'll never clear this game."

"But…"

"Jounouchi…" said Mokuno.

"Anyway," said Jounouchi, "I've decided that I'm entering."

Later, the match began. There was a crowd cheering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've finally found a challenger to face our invincible champion," said the frog-man. "To protect her two sisters, this terrifying pig fights back against the wolf. Live, pig!"

Jounouchi stepped into the arena, dressed in the pig mask and green cape. "Die, wolf! It's Jo the Wolf Killer!"

A person in the crowd said he was betting on the challenger. Another berated him, saying that the champion wouldn't lose.

_I've got a bad feeling about this,_ thought Jounouchi.

"You can do it, Jounouchi!" said Yugi.

"Your opponent will be the invincible champion Butterfly!" said the frog-man.

This "Butterfly", who had not been paying attention to the frog-man's words, was sitting on a high-backed chair, carried on a large plank of wood by a pair of short, stocky men. The champion looked exactly like the person on the sign from earlier.

"The champion is a girl?" Jounouchi asked, more to herself than anyone else.

The champion leapt off the chair, landing gracefully on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I managed to incorporate the life/attack/defense point counters that show up in the anime as an in-universe thing, with justification! I'm thinking of including this in the Battle City arc as kind of a temporary visual effect from summoning monsters (likely as a 3D model, rather than a text box, seeing as how this is a virtual world and most of the rest of Yu-Gi-Oh! is set outside virtual reality), and include this in stories set after Battle City!
> 
> And yep, so far in the canon version of this arc, everything seems to line up with common video game tropes. Including the Desert Tornado of Doom.
> 
> And yep, [blind speedruns](https://www.reddit.com/r/speedrun/comments/19w16u/purpose_of_blind_speedruns/) are a real thing! They're not usually serious speedruns, though. And obviously, some games are better for this than others. Essentially, it's a cross between a speedrun and a blind playthrough. You're trying to beat the game as fast as possible, like a speedrun, while not having played it, like a blind playthrough.


	63. Labyrinth

In the real world, Honda and Ansei had formed a barricade with a desk, which the security guards were trying to break down.

"Damn it!" said Honda. "I hope this stays up!" Ansei helped her keep the barricade up.

Back in the game world, the champion laughed. "It was foolish of you to challenge me, kid."

"Be quiet!" said Jounouchi. "Your time as champion is over!" The champion's voice was familiar, somehow…

They began the duel.

"I'm going to win!" said Jounouchi. The challenger's voice was also familiar, though the champion could not place where. The mask wasn't helping. "Come out, Flame Swordsman!"

"Then I'll play this card!" said the champion. "Harpy Lady!"

"Harpy Lady?" asked Jounouchi. It only had 1300 attack points! "My monster has greater attack points. Go, Flame Swordsman!"

"How naïve," said the champion. "I expected that attack! Mirror Wall!"

When the Flame Swordsman struck the wall, he bounced backwards, his attack points reduced to 900.

"Hang in there!" said Jounouchi. _I_ know _this attack pattern,_ thought Jounouchi.

"Can it be?" asked Yugi.

The champion laughed. "You can't hurt my Harpy Lady in a million years!"

"Now I'm positive," said Jounouchi. "The shrill laugh and arrogant language…"

"It's my turn," said the champion. "Rose Whip!" Harpy Lady now had 1800 attack points.

"W-wait!" said Jounouchi, removing her mask.

The champion looked at her in confusion. "Jounouchi?" The champion had also unmasked, revealing "her" identity as Maiku Jaku. He had not expected the challenger to be female, let alone Jounouchi.

"I knew it was you, Maiku," said Yugi. He leapt down onto the ground, along with Mokuno.

"Yugi? Mokuno? What are you doing here?" asked Maiku.

"We should be asking _you_ that," said Jounouchi.

"My sister has been taken hostage," said Mokuno.

"If we don't clear this game, Kaiba's life is in danger," explained Yugi.

"Kaiba?" asked Maiku. Wasn't she the CEO of KaibaCorp? Aside from getting onto a KaibaCorp helicopter that Kaiba happened to be operating, he didn't know much about Kaiba.

"Yeah," said Yugi. "Since we're friends, we don't have to fight here."

"What's going on?" complained one man in the crowd. Indeed, the crowd had become very angry.

"But we have to fight to rescue Kaiba," said Jounouchi. "We need that card to cross the desert."

"So all you need is that card?" asked Maiku. "I've been wanting to leave this town myself." The Harpy Lady used her whip to snatch the card from the stand between the chairs meant for the announcers.

"What are you doing?" asked the frog-man.

"It's mine!" said Maiku, grabbing the card once the tip of the Harpy Lady's whip had returned to his general location. "Run!"

With that, the four rushed out of the arena, Jounouchi and Maiku having ditched their capes along with their masks.

"Don't let them escape!" said the frog-man.

The crowd chased them out of the arena.

"They're persistent!" noted Maiku.

Turning around, Jounouchi said, "Take this! I activate Trap Hole!"

A chunk of the crowd disappeared in a beam of light. When the beam vanished, those people were not to be found, and there was a huge hole in the ground where the beam once was. The people that were right behind them stopped, gazing at the hole in shock.

Eventually, the four made it to the desert.

"It's impossible to walk across this," noted Maiku.

"Maiku, use your Niwatori card," said Jounouchi.

He did just that. Four of the creature shown on the card appeared.

The four crossed the desert on these creatures.

"Why are you here, anyway?" asked Jounouchi.

"I was invited to test a new game, but then I couldn't escape from this crazy world," explained Maiku.

"Looks like you're also trapped in the simulator," said Mokuno. Suddenly, she spotted something. A large amount of sand sprung up, almost like a geyser. The ground split, the cracks moving towards them. "What's going on?!" asked Mokuno.

Vines sprung out from the cracks. Afterwards, a stone creature, given the rather uncreative name of "Sand Stone," arose from the ground. It had 1300 attack points and 1600 defense points.

"How annoying!" said Jounouchi, drawing a card. "Come out, Red-Eyes! Dark Mega Flare!" With its 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points, it would destroy Sand Stone easily. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Actually, nothing went wrong. Red-Eyes destroyed Sand Stone, easy as that.

"How's that!" said Jounouchi.

"Huh?" asked Maiku. The sand cleared up, revealing a building in the distance.

"Sand Stone was creating the sandstorm," said Yugi.

"Where should we go?" asked Maiku.

"I heard that they took my sister to a temple on that mountain," said Mokuno.

With that, the four rode to the building.

"We're finally here," said Mokuno. She leapt off her Niwatori.

"Hey! Mokuno!" said Jounouchi. Mokuno did not listen. "Sheesh. When it's about Kaiba, she becomes impatient." With that, the other three dismounted and entered the building. But the interior was not what the four expected.

"How can this be the inside of a temple?" asked Jounouchi. Indeed, the interior more closely resembled a cave than anything manmade, let alone a temple.

"Creepy," said Mokuno.

"We just have to keep going," said Yugi.

Eventually, the four approached a large wooden set of double doors.

"I'm opening it," said Jounouchi.

Beyond the door was what looked to be a maze, with purple brick walls. The ground was made of rough stone, covered in a thick layer of moss.

Jounouchi gasped. "No way! A labyrinth dungeon? This looks bad." As if this weren't bad enough, the doors shut behind them. "It's no good! We're locked in!"

"What should we do?" asked Maiku.

"I see," said Yugi. "This world is modeled after our duels in Duelist Kingdom. That means there must be an exit somewhere ahead."

The four heard a scream.

"What was that?" asked Maiku.

"Is someone there?" asked Yugi.

"I'm coming!" said Jounouchi. She ran ahead.

"Jounouchi!" said Maiku. "Sheesh," she said. "She reacts quickly when she hears a person in trouble."

Just then, a Labyrinth Tank showed up behind them.

"What?" asked the three.

"Labyrinth Tank!" said Yugi. "Run!"

And run they did. Labyrinth Tank had 2400 attack and defense.

The three caught up with Jounouchi.

"Dammit! Which way?" asked Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi!" said Yugi. "Run!"

Jounouchi arbitrarily chose left. The others followed her. But there was another Labyrinth Tank.

"I'll turn the tables on them!" said Jounouchi.

"We're surrounded!" said Maiku. Indeed, there were three Labyrinth Tanks, blocking all three exits.

"Crap! Is it over for us?" asked Jounouchi.

"Don't give up!" said Yugi.

"But still…"

"Magical Hats!" said Yugi. One big Magical Hat surrounded the four. It was promptly destroyed by the three Labyrinth Tanks.

"We're safe," said Jounouchi. "Nice call."

There had three other Magical Hats. The four had been teleported into one of them.

Then, the four heard something.

"They're still after us!" said Maiku. "Which way should we go?"

Just then, a fairy showed up.

"You're from before!" said Yugi.

"I think it's guiding us," said Jounouchi.

"Let's go," said Maiku.

The fairy flew off, the four following it. The fairy led them to a person.

"Earu!" he said. The boy was dressed in an elegant yellow suit-type outfit, with pink accents. He resembled Mokuno, with slightly neater hair. He looked up at the four in surprise.

The only word that Yugi could think of was a confused, "Mokuno?"

"Why are you dressed like that?" asked Jounouchi.

"I'm right here, you idiot," said Mokuno, who was dressed in very much her normal clothes.

"B-but…" said Maiku.

"You two look exactly alike," said Yugi.

"Yeah," said Maiku.

"So you're the one who screamed," said Mokuno, approaching her doppelgänger.

"Who are you?" asked the boy.

"Save the intros for later," said Jounouchi. "Do you know where the exit is?"

"No," said the boy, shaking his head.

The four let out sighs of disappointment.

"But Earu can lead us," said the boy.

With that, the five followed Earu to a tunnel with light at the end.

"All right, it's the exit!" said Jounouchi.

But blocking the exit was the Gate Guardian. Yet another monster Jounouchi did not remember fondly.

"Damn it!" said Jounouchi. "I knew it'd show up!" The Gate Guardian sported a hefty 3750 attack points and 3400 defense points.

"What is that?" asked Maiku. "We don't have a card that can defeat it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be entertaining for the champion in the arena to be assumed to be male, then thought to be female, then being revealed to be male. Quite a few characters getting confused for another gender in this fic!


	64. Castle

"Leave it to us!" said Jounouchi. "Let's go, Yugi!"

Yugi nodded.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" said Jounouchi.

"Summoned Skull!" said Yugi. "Polymerization!"

"Come out, Black Skull Dragon!" they said. It had an impressive 3200 attack points and 2500 defense points.

"So close!" said Maiku. "But it's not enough!"

"We're not done," said Jounouchi. "Dragon Nails raises its attack points by 700." Now it had 3900 attack points. "Go, Meteor Flame!" The Gate Guardian was destroyed.

"Incredible," said the boy. "Thank you very much. How can I repay you?"

"Don't worry about it!" said Jounouchi.

"Let's go," said Yugi.

Just then, the three heard a voice, saying, "Michael!"

"Nanny!" said the boy.

When the group got closer, it turned out to be a group of knights with torches and an elderly woman.

"Michael, you're safe!" said the woman. "Who are those with you?"

"They saved me," said the boy.

The four shut their eyes. It wasn't really saving him. It wasn't even an escort mission!

The knights and the nanny looked at the five in surprise.

"Please let me thank you for saving me," said Michael.

Meanwhile, in a stone-walled room, Kaiba finally regained consciousness. "Where am I?" she asked. Her arms felt sore, having been above her head for who knows how long.

"You woke up, Setomi Kaiba," said a demon who arose from the ground. 

This fully awoke Kaiba. "Witty Phantom," she said. Though she would argue that he wasn't a particularly good conversation partner, being a Duel Monster in real life and a mere NPC in this game. "What will you do with me?"

"Do you even need to ask?" asked the Phantom, who had 1400 attack points and 1300 defense points. "You will be sacrificed to the Five-Headed Dragon."

"Five-Headed Dragon?" asked Kaiba.

"Yes," said the Phantom. "The evil god who will transform this world into chaos and shadows. The ceremony to resurrect the Five-Headed Dragon requires one more sacrifice. But that person will arrive soon."

"Let me play this game fair and square!" said Kaiba.

The Phantom clicked his tongue and wagged his finger. "Such nonsense," he said. "My mission is to do whatever it takes to eliminate you. I'm not _programmed_ to let you play."

"What?" This was absurd. Had the Big Five _deliberately_ programmed him to be so annoying? First the cheesy dialogue, and now he was breaking the fourth wall? What other clichés did this game have up its -

"Just wait for the next sacrifice to arrive," said the Phantom.

"Why you - !" growled Kaiba as the Phantom vanished.

Meanwhile, outside, the four had entered a carriage with Michael and his caretaker.

"We agreed to go with them without question," said Jounouchi, "but do you think we can really get home?"

"Don't worry," said Maiku. "Michael doesn't seem to be an enemy character."

"You're right," said Yugi. "I think that character is modeled after Mokuno."

"Me?" asked Mokuno. There was no denying the resemblance, but what was even the _point?_

"The Big Five have no taste," said Jounouchi. "At the _very_ least they lack creativity!"

"Be quiet!" said Mokuno.

"Look at that!" said Yugi, distracting Jounouchi and Mokuno from their argument. The four looked out the window.

Just outside their window was a mountain, with pristine white buildings scattered up one side of the mountain. At the very top was a castle.

"Wow!" said Jounouchi. "This really is a fantasy world!"

"There must be a lead to my sister's whereabouts at that castle," said Mokuno.

The carriage stopped, and the group ascended the mountain. The four followed Michael and his caretaker into the castle. Jounouchi looked around, taking in her surroundings. Earu stopped to rest on Yugi's head, between her bangs and the rest of her hair. Michael turned around. "I think Earu likes you," he said.

"Don't tell me you're…"

"Yes," said Michael. "I'm Prince Michael of Goland."

"Prince?" said the four, in surprise.

Inside the castle, the five ate, with Michael's caretaker watching over them.

"Jounouchi, slow down!" said Maiku. "No one is going to eat your share!" Not that this mattered. Was any of this food even real?

"Prince, have you heard anything about my sister?" asked Mokuno.

"Goland and Kosuta in the west must offer one person for sacrifice every year," said Michael.

"Sacrifice?" asked Yugi.

"What do you mean?" asked Maiku.

"If we don't offer sacrifices to the Five-Headed Dragon, its rage will destroy our nations," said Michael.

"Five-Headed Dragon?" asked Yugi.

"Earu told me that in the west, they've already offered another person," said Michael.

"That must be my sister!" said Mokuno. "Where is she?"

"in the dark castle floating in the sky," said Michael.

"How can we get there?" asked Yugi.

"Please look at this," said Michael, looking over to his left. The four followed his gaze. There was a painting on the wall, of a large bird-like being. The half of the sky to the left was a light blue, with a sun over green grass, while the other half was a dark blue, with a moon over many clouds. "Legends say that a thousand years ago, someone escaped from the floating castle and hid a flying ship in these lands. But no one knows where it's hidden."

"We should just use a flying monster," said Maiku.

"A monster can't get through the dark floating castle's barriers," said Michael.

"No way…" said Mokuno.

"Don't worry," said Maiku. "Since this is a game, there must be a way to clear it."

Michael and his caretaker blinked twice. "Game?" asked Michael.

Maiku looked up, and realized how that sounded to inhabitants of this game world. Laughing nervously, Maiku said, "Don't mind us!" Calming down, he said, "Anyway, have you decided who'll be sacrificed?"

"Yes," said Michael. He looked downward. "Me."

The four looked at him in surprise.

"But maybe you can save our world," said Michael. "My country's folklore says that a legendary hero will cross the Horos Mountains and arrive here. When the mightiest dragon and soldier stand together, the evil god will be destroyed."

"That's why you went there," said Yugi.

"Are you saying that we're the legendary heroes?" asked Maiku.

"Yes!" said Michael. "Peace in this land rests upon your shoulders."

"Awright! This is what I'm talking about!" said Jounouchi. "It's turning into a heroic fantasy!"

"You're such a simpleton," said Maiku. "If we're not careful, we'll end up like Kaiba."

"But if we don't defeat the Five-Headed Dragon," said Jounouchi, "we can't save Kaiba. We know what we have to do."

Yugi nodded, as did Mokuno.

"Thank you very much," said Michael. "We have armor for you."

With that, the four entered were guided to a room containing various clothes. They changed into the armor.

"This is getting in the spirit!" said Maiku. His armor consisted of a sleeveless purple tunic, with a blue cape and armor of his chest and shoulders, and plate armor with knee-high purple boots and elbow-length gloves. It may not have been the most practical armor choice, but this was a video game anyway. None of this was real. Why not have fun with this? "What do you think, Yugi?" he asked.

Yugi herself wore blue armor with yellow accents and a red cape, with black leggings. "It's a bit embarrassing," she admitted. She felt more like a kid in a Halloween costume than a hero.

"I think it looks good on you," said Maiku.

"Really?" asked Yugi. She sat down on a chest. "But Maiku, this doesn't involve you. You don't need to put yourself in danger."

"Enough of that!" said Maiku. "I can't quit mid-game."

"Maiku…" said Yugi.

"Where's Jounouchi?" asked Maiku.

Jounouchi peeked out from behind some curtains. "Why does all the best armor have to look ridiculous together?" she asked.

"Whatever," said Maiku. "Just come out."

Jounouchi pulled the curtains open. Maiku and Yugi looked at Jounouchi with looks of surprise. Her armor really did look ridiculous. The top portion, metal plate armor over a tunic, clashed with the boots and gloves _severely,_ leading to a very questionable-looking outfit.

"This isn't fair!" she said.

"But these are all the best armor pieces," said Michael's caretaker.

With that, lightning struck.

"What is it?" asked Jounouchi.

The sky darkened. The six went outside. More lightning struck.

"It's too dangerous, milord!" said Michael's caretaker. "Run away!"

The six witnessed many distant figures floating down from the sky. Mokuno looked a bit more scared than the others.

"They've come to get their sacrifice," said Jounouchi.

"There are so many!" said Yugi.

"Let's do this!" said Maiku, drawing a card. "Dark Witch!"

Dark Witch destroyed two of the monsters.

"It's no good," said Yugi. "There's too many. Maiku, call back your Dark Witch."

"What will you do?" asked Maiku.

"I'll take them down all at once!" said Yugi.

"Return, Dark Witch!" said Maiku.

Yugi drew a card. "I activate Dark Hole!" she said. "Destroy all monsters!"

But before the card could activate, a blade struck through it, rendering it useless.

"What?" asked Jounouchi.

Yugi looked up in the direction the blade had fallen from. Armed Ninja was on top of one of the spires of the castle.

"Oh no!" said Jounouchi. "Armed Ninja's effect can destroy one spell card!"

Armed Ninja released a net.

"Michael!" said Yugi. The net rose up.

"Axe Raider, attack using Kunai with Chain!" said Jounouchi. She was successful in destroying Armed Ninja, however, another monster picked up the slack, grabbing the net and flying off.

"Milord!" said Michael's caretaker.

The sky lightened back up.

"Oh no… Mokuno…"

"Dammit!" said Jounouchi. She then realized something. "What do you mean, Mokuno?" "Mokuno" turned "her" head around. "You're…"

"Milord!" said Michael's caretaker.

"Prince Michael?" asked Yugi.

"Then who did they take?" asked Maiku.

"It was Mokuno," said Michael. "Mokuno asked to switch places with me. She said that if she was the sacrifice, they'd take her to her sister. It's my fault. If I remained the sacrifice…" He changed the subject. "Please save Mokuno!"

"But it's a floating castle," said Jounouchi.

"How do we get there?" asked Yugi. She looked down. She noticed something. "Hey! Look at that!"

The others looked to see. "What is it, Yugi?" asked Jounouchi.

"What about it?" asked Maiku.

The "it" in question was a white outline on the ground, far from the castle. It resembled the bird-like being from the painting.

"It looks like the Nazca Lines," said Jounouchi.

"You're right, but look at the whole thing," said Yugi.

"Is that a card?" asked Maiku.

"Is that the legendary flying ship?" asked Michael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone confused about Nazca Lines, [here's a link to a Wikipedia article discussing them.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines)
> 
> And regarding Michael (male!Mary's name), it was that or Mario as a male equivalent. [I don't need another blatant video game reference,](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneMarioLimit) perceived or actual. And yes, I will make a joke in YGOHTAS about that name being changed because of Michael Valentine's name. Even though the names had nothing to do with each other in either the dub or the Abridged Series.
> 
> Also, Kaiba disliking clichés has some basis, at least in one of the video games! In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, Kaiba pokes fun at the clichéd plot of the in-universe video game in his storyline! I kinda want a GameCube controller now, so I can play it on my Wii...
> 
> As for the armor, I changed it mainly because in the original, it was a caveman costume, which I felt was too undignified compared to everyone else's armor. It also gives me a chance to make fun of [another video game trope!](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RainbowPimpGear)
> 
> Also, fun fact! In the second episode of this arc, there's a brief shot of the group during the monster attack while they're outside. [If you pause,](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FreezeFrameBonus) you can notice Mary dressed in Mokuba's clothes, and while Mokuba's in the net, you can see Mokuba is dressed in Mary's clothes. I thought that was [a neat little detail!](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FiveSecondForeshadowing)


	65. Flying Ship

Michael had signs put up in the castle town. The signs read, "People of Goland, now is the time to rise up. We must send the legendary heroes to the dark floating castle to defeat the source of evil, the Five-Headed Dragon. In order to do this, we need everyone's help. There must be a clue hidden in this town on how to resurrect the flying ship. We must find it."

Meanwhile, back at the castle…

"Just wait, Kaiba and Mokuno," said Yugi. "We promise to save you."

Later, down in front of the castle…

"Unfortunately, we didn't find a thing," said one of the townspeople.

"The ancient texts said nothing," said another.

"Everyone else?" asked Michael.

An elderly man shook his head.

"We've come so far…" said Jounouchi, frustrated.

"Don't give up, Jounouchi," said Yugi.

"That's right," said Maiku. "There must be a trick to this."

"No, there isn't!" said Jounouchi. "The Big Five made an unfair game! The longer we take, the more likely that Kaiba and Mokuno will be…"

Earu flew next to Yugi, who took note of this. _There must be a hint,_ she thought. _Think! There must be… long ago, someone escaped form the floating castle and hid a flying ship in these lands._ She realized something. "Prince! In the legend, when did the flying ship arrive?"

"A thousand years ago," said Michael.

"I see! That's it!" said Yugi.

The three made their way to the outline.

"The flying ship was sealed here a thousand years ago," said Yugi.

"So what?" asked Jounouchi.

"We have to return this place to the way it was a thousand years ago," said Yugi.

"A thousand years?" asked Jounouchi. "That's not possible!"

"It's possible!" said Maiku. "Jounouchi, you can do it!"

"Yeah," said Yugi. "Do you know why these ruins are shaped like a card? Because we need to use a card to restore it! Jounouchi, you have that card!"

"I see!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. Time Wizard. "I can use this card to go back a thousand years. But this is an unpredictable card. There's no guarantee what it will do."

"No matter what happens," said Yugi, "we must save Kaiba and Mokuno."

"Okay," said Jounouchi. She took a deep breath. "I'm counting on you, Time Wizard. Go back a thousand years! Time Magic!"

Time Wizard appeared, and made a barrier surrounding the ruins. Buildings began to rebuild around the three, until eventually, an entire town had formed around the outline, which was now sharp and well-defined, as if it had just been painted yesterday. But there was still no flying ship.

"Damn! It didn't work!" said Jounouchi.

Suddenly, the ground shook beneath them. The ground inside the outline began to crack, light shooting out from them. These cracks soon spread to outside the outline, eventually coming to encompass the ground beneath the three. They fell, screaming.

The flying machine arose. The three were safe.

"Hey, we're in the air!" said Jounouchi. "We're on the flying ship!"

"Yeah!" said Yugi, grinning.

Earu flew up to Yugi. "Earu, you're coming with us?" Yugi asked. Earu nodded. "Okay, let's go to the dark floating castle!"

"All right!" said Jounouchi, running up to the front of the ship. She grabbed the rudder. "Here we go!" She turned it, turning the ship. The other two caught up.

Back in the real world, Ansei and Honda had to get a second table to keep the barricade up. Unfortunately, one of the security guards had his hand through the door. Ansei pushed it back and closed the door, which had been slightly ajar from the security guards' attempts to get it open.

"You're surrounded," said Saruwatari. "Give up."

"We won't let you lay a finger on Yugi!" said Honda.

Back in the game world, the ship was almost at the castle. Many monsters were floating outside it.

"Here they come!" said Yugi.

"We're plunging in!" said Jounouchi.

"This will be a nice challenge," said Maiku, drawing two cards. "Harpy Lady, Rose Whip!"

"Giltia the Dark Knight!" said Jounouchi, also drawing a card.

"Dark Magician!" said Yugi.

"Yeah! Keep it coming!" said Jounouchi.

Unfortunately, even as their monsters destroyed the enemy monsters with ease, explosives were being fired at their ship. Yugi fell to the ground from the impact. A flying monster flew down towards the ship. Dark Magician turned back, seemingly surprised and worried.

Earu stood between the monster and Yugi. The monster attacked Earu. She was knocked aside easily. She screamed.

"Earu!" said Yugi, scared for what was likely to happen.

Dark Magician destroyed the flying monster that had attacked Earu, as if concerned for Yugi's wellbeing.

"Swords of Revealing Light!" said Yugi, activating the card in question. The Swords kept the monsters in the sky still.

Yugi held the terribly injured Earu in her hands. Earu just barely managed to open her eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Yugi, tears in her eyes. "You protected me."

Earu smiled, as if to say, "It's all right," as she faded.

"Yugi," said Maiku, in an attempt to be reassuring.

Tears fell from Yugi's eyes. She stood upright as the Millennium Puzzle glowed. The other Yugi took over. "I'll make you pay, Big Five!" said the other Yugi, furious.

Just then, there was a problem. "We hit the barrier!" said Maiku.

"Just a little more to break through!" said Jounouchi. Eventually, the ship pierced the barrier.

"We did it!" said Jounouchi.

Without any more ado, the ship flew towards the castle.

"What's that?" asked the other Yugi.

A beam of fire burst out from the door to the castle. Jounouchi turned the wheel, in an attempt to dodge. "Dammit!" she said. Thankfully, she had succeeded.

Another flame, this time in the shape of a serpentine dragon.

"Why you!" said Maiku.

The Harpy Lady attacked the flaming dragon, destroying it. Unfortunately, the back of the ship had caught fire. A propeller was about to hit them. The other Yugi activated a card. The propeller hit the part where the three once were.

Fortunately, however, the three had escaped on the other Yugi's Winged Dragon. The three Harpy Ladies, one of them carrying Dark Magician and another carrying Giltia, also escaped the wreckage, as the ship finally fell from the sky.

With that, the eight flew towards the castle.

When the three duelists landed in the forest below the castle, they recalled their monsters.

Meanwhile, inside the castle, Kaiba remained tied to a rock by her wrists. She heard something. She lifted her head and opened her eyes.

"You again," she said darkly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said the Witty Phantom. "The second sacrifice has arrived."

Kaiba heard a sound. She looked down towards her right. There was a spot on the ground, glowing yellow. A young boy, dressed in an elaborate outfit, appeared, lying on the ground. Kaiba was surprised. This young boy bore a striking resemblance to her sister…

The "boy" threw off the outfit, revealing green armor over a cream-colored tunic, grey leggings, and brown boots. "Big sister!" said Mokuno.

"Mokuno! Why are you here?" asked Kaiba.

"I wanted to save you!" said Mokuno.

"Oh my," said the Phantom. "This is a favorable turn of events. It's time to perform the ritual. Shall we begin?"

Mokuno put a hand to her Duel Disk.

"I offer these sacrifices to the great Five-Headed Dragon!" said the Phantom.

Mokuno drew a card, then summoned Swordstalker. With a single slice of its blade, it cut the ropes. Kaiba landed on the ground, wrists still slightly sore from the ropes, but the circulation returned to her arms and hands. She rubbed her wrists.

"Take this!" said Mokuno, handing Kaiba her Duel Disk.

"Good work, Mokuno," said Kaiba.

"What?" asked the Phantom, taking a step backwards and not quite living up to his full name.

Kaiba chuckled. "It's time to pay you back," she said. "Come out, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The Phantom let out a rather undignified scream, trying to run away.

"Annihilate him!" said Kaiba. "Burst Stream of Destruction!"

The Phantom could not outrun the attack, and was destroyed.

"Mokuno, let's go!" said Kaiba.

Mokuno nodded, and the two made their way out.

They did not escape without difficulty, however, as many Armed Ninjas occupied the next room. One of them summoned a Dragon Capture Jar.

"The same trick won't work twice!" said Kaiba. "Come out, Trap Master!"

A blue-skinned and blue-haired being, with a humanoid upper have and three spindly, mechanical legs appeared on top of the Dragon Capture Jar, and shattered it.

"I get back my Blue-Eyes that was captured previously," said Kaiba, more out of habit than anything else. A second Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared next to the first. "Vanish, you weakling! Double Burst Stream of Rage!"

All the Armed Ninjas were destroyed.

"Mokuno, how did you get here?" asked Kaiba, now that they were not in imminent danger.

"Yugi and her friends helped me," said Mokuno.

"Yugi? Yugi is in this world?" asked Kaiba.

"I was worried about you," said Mokuno.

"You didn't need to do that," said Kaiba. "Let's go!" She left the room.

"Wait!" said Mokuno, giving chase.

Meanwhile, Yugi, Jounouchi, and Maiku were in a forest.

"This dark castle sure is peaceful," said Jounouchi.

"No, I sense something," said the other Yugi.

"Look!" said Maiku.

Far in the distance was a strange tree. It was enormous in size, with what looked to be three cocoons embedded in the trunk.

"Cocoons of Evolution!" said Jounouchi.

"Don't let them open!" said Maiku.

Suddenly, hundreds of Killer Needles flew up, and then towards the three.

"Bring it on!" said Jounouchi. "Giltia the Dark Knight!"

Giltia sliced apart many of them easily, but another monster landed on Giltia, destroying him along with itself.

"Giltia!" said Jounouchi.

"Man-Eater Bug!" said the other Yugi. "That complicates things."

"They're coming!" said Jounouchi.

The other Yugi drew a card. "Mirror Force!" she said.

The bugs were deflected and destroyed. Unfortunately, their destruction resulted in their spontaneous combustion, setting the forest on fire when they landed. The Cocoons of Evolution broke.

"We're too late," said Jounouchi.

"There's still a way," said the other Yugi, drawing two cards. She summoned Kuriboh and Catapult Turtle.

"Kuriboh?" asked Jounouchi.

Catapult Turtle's barrel lifted up, and Kuriboh floated over to the base of it.

"I'll use this to destroy Great Moth," said Yugi, holding up the Multiply card. "Launch Kuriboh!"

With that, Catapult Turtle launched Kuriboh. Midflight, many clones of Kuriboh showed up, exploding on impact with the Man-Eater Bugs.

"We did it!" said Maiku.

Meanwhile, in the real world…

"Unbelievable," said Oshita.

"Yugi Mutou made it this far," said Ooka.

"It's come to this," said Oshita.


	66. Home

Meanwhile, back in the game world, the three made it to the castle.

They walked some distance in, when they saw what they least expected.

"What's that?" asked Jounouchi.

There was a dark, swirling _something_ on the ceiling. A glowing spot appeared in it, becoming a beam. The light grew in intensity, so much that the three had to shut their eyes and put their arms up over them. The beam disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and the three opened their eyes and put their arms back down. From the swirling darkness came…

"Blue-Eyes?" A Blue-Eyes White Dragon was peeking its head into the room.

Kaiba and Mokuno dropped into the room, from the same place as Blue-Eyes was peeking in from.

"Kaiba! Mokuno!" said the other Yugi.

"You're safe!" said Jounouchi. "We were worried."

"I don't need some loser to worry about me," said Kaiba.

"Say what?!" said Jounouchi. "Who do ya _think_ helped you?"

Suddenly, the five heard chuckling. Kaiba and Mokuno looked behind themselves, while the others looked past them.

"It's impressive that you made it this far," said the voice.

"Ha! Your attempt to sacrifice me has failed," said Kaiba.

"Setomi Kaiba?" asked the voice. "How are you here?"

"The legendary Five-Headed Dragon can no longer resurrect!" said Kaiba. "I've cleared the game!"

The voice chuckled. "We won't allow that," it said.

Suddenly, the room disappeared, leaving only the skybox. The floor and ceiling resembled the green surface of a computer chip, while there were no walls, just endless expanse, with darkness in the distance.

"What's happening?" asked Jounouchi.

A dark purple ball of flame appeared before the five, starting small but rapidly growing in size, eventually taking the form of a dragon with five heads. From left to right, the heads appeared to be a flaming dragon, an aquatic serpentine dragon, a gray dragon with glowing yellow eyes, a black dragon, and a dragon with metal scales and glowing green eyes.

"That's the legendary Five-Headed Dragon," said the other Yugi.

"You're cheating!" said Jounouchi. "You can't resurrect the Five-Headed Dragon!"

The voice chuckled. "A quality game has unexpected plot twists," it said.

"I see," said Kaiba. "You're desperate. It's obvious by the lack of foreshadowing."

"Fine," said the other Yugi. "We accept this duel!" Not that it strictly qualified as a duel, given that it was four against one.

The Five-Headed Dragon had 5000 attack points and 4000 defense points.

"Here I go!" said Maiku. "Harpy Lady Sisters!" Except… they weren't doing anything? "What?"

The voiced chuckled. "Look at the ground beneath your feet," it said.

"Lord of Dragon?" asked the other Yugi.

"Correct," said the voice. "This is sacred ground for dragons. Non-dragon monsters can't battle here."

Kaiba chuckled at this revelation, before breaking into full-on laughter. "You're challenging _me_ to a dragon monster battle? I admire your enthusiasm. Come out, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"I'll do it too!" said Jounouchi. "Come out, Red-Eyes!"

"Harpy's Pet Dragon!" said Maiku.

"Curse of Dragon!" said the other Yugi.

"Here we go!" said the four.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon attacked, followed by Harpy's Pet Dragon, then Curse of Dragon, and finally Blue-Eyes White Dragon. These energy bursts made contact with those of the Five-Headed Dragon, creating an explosion. When the dust cleared, however…

"It stopped our attacks!" said Jounouchi.

"I see," said the other Yugi. "The five heads can act independently."

The voice chuckled. "But one head can still attack," it said. "Let's teach you a lesson," it told Mokuno.

"What? You don't mean…"

"Be gone, Mokuno!" said the voice, as the gray dragon attacked.

"Mokuno!" said Kaiba.

Jounouchi sent Red-Eyes Black Dragon to take the hit for Mokuno. The hit reduced Jounouchi to zero life points. She dropped down to one knee, a hand on the ground to support herself. She was trembling.

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi, walking towards her. Maiku did the same thing.

"Yugi, I leave the rest of this to you," said Jounouchi, as she faded.

"Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi.

Jounouchi gave a thumbs-up and a smile as the last of her body faded away.

"That was unfair!" said Maiku. "Directly attacking a player is against the rules!"

"Unfair?" asked the voice, as if the concept were alien to it. It chuckled. "We make the rules in this world."

"You scum!" said Kaiba. Implementing one of the new rules without warning, and without Kaiba's permission? Over her dead body!

"When the mightiest dragon and soldier stand together, the evil god will be slain," said the other Yugi.

"What do you mean?" asked Kaiba.

"It’s a legend told in this world," said the other Yugi. "It's a hint on how to defeat them! Gaia the Fierce Knight, transform into the legendary knight!" She activated the spell Black Luster Ritual, tributing Gaia and Curse of Dragon. This created a beam of light. When the light faded, Black Luster Soldier had replaced them.

The voiced chuckled. "You were so shaken that you forgot about the seal," it said. "As long as you're on the dragon's sacred ground, Black Luster Soldier cannot battle. We'll pulverize it."

"I won't let you!" said Maiku. "I'll take you on!" Harpy's Pet Dragon attacked.

"You're in our way!" said the voice. "Vanish!"

In the end, the gray head's attack overpowered the Pet Dragon's, and it was destroyed.

"Maiku!" said the other Yugi.

Maiku's life points fell to zero. He fell down.

"Yugi, I don't know what you're planning, but I believe in you," said Maiku as he faded. "You must win!" He faded entirely.

"Maiku, you risked your life to assist me," said the other Yugi. "I won't let that go to waste! Kaiba, now's your chance to summon your Ultimate Dragon!"

"Are you ordering me around?" asked Kaiba.

"This is no time to argue!" said the other Yugi.

"I don't need your help!" said Kaiba. "I can defeat them by myself!"

"Keep talking, Kaiba," said the voice. "We'll destroy you and your Blue-Eyes." The gray head attacked.

"Kaiba, summon Ultimate Dragon!" said the other Yugi.

"Silence!" said Kaiba.

"Big sister!" said Mokuno, as the attack headed in Kaiba's direction. She pushed Kaiba out of the way, taking the blast in her place.

"Mokuno!" said Kaiba.

Mokuno, collapsed. Kaiba caught her as she faded.

"Mokuno!" Kaiba shouted, eyes squeezed shut. She fell to her knees.

"Now you know how powerless you are, Kaiba," said the voice. "We'll soon reunite you with your dear sister."

"Stand up, Kaiba!" said the other Yugi. "Don't let Mokuno's sacrifice go to waste!"

"I'll make you pay, Big Five," said Kaiba. She stood upright, drawing four cards. "Come out, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared. They fused into a singular dragon with three heads. 4500 attack points, 3800 defense points.

The voice chuckled. "Even the Ultimate Dragon is no match for Five-Headed Dragon's attack points," it said.

"Are you sure about that?" asked the other Yugi. "When the mightiest dragon and soldier stand together, the evil god will be slain."

"What?" asked the voice. What was she going on about? "There's a monster that you can summon when Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon are together?"

"You're about to find out!" said the other Yugi, holding up a Polymerization card. "Go, Black Luster Soldier!"

"Go! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" said Kaiba.

"We'll stop you!" said the voice. The Five-Headed Dragon attacked. Except… nothing happened? "What? We were repelled!"

Black Luster Soldier was atop Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. It was Dragon Master Knight, a monster with 5000 attack points and 4000 defense points. Black Luster Soldier lifted up his blade. With a burst of light, Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Harpy's Pet Dragon were brought back.

"Those dragons were sent to the graveyard," said the voice.

The Five-Headed Dragon was surrounded by purple energy, energy going towards Black Luster Soldier. The same was true for the other dragons, as well.

"Master Dragon Knight gains attack points for every dragon on the field," explained the other Yugi. "Are you watching, Jounouchi, Maiku, and Mokuno? This is your power!" Dragon Master Knight now had 9000 attack points, more than enough to destroy Five-Headed Dragon.

"Go, Dragon Master Knight!" said Kaiba.

"Galaxy Crusher!" said the other Yugi.

With that, a beam shot out from Black Luster Soldier's lance, which, combined with the Ultimate Dragon's beams from its mouth, destroyed the Five-Headed Dragon.

"Impossible!" said the voice, as the Dragon disappeared.

The monsters, along with the skybox, faded. The two were surrounded by darkness. They fell, screaming.

When the other Yugi came to, she saw the sky. Perfectly normal. She heard a crowd.

"Where are we?" asked the other Yugi, as she got up.

Kaiba was clutching her head.

The two stood up. They were on a stone dais. In front of the dais was a cheering crowd.

"You defeated the evil god," said a voice. The other Yugi turned around, as did Kaiba. It was Michael. "You brought peace to our world," he continued.

"What about Jounouchi? And Maiku? And Mokuno?" asked the other Yugi.

Kaiba's fists were shaking. "This was a hollow victory," she said.

"Heroes, now that the evil god is gone, it's my turn to repay you," said Michael.

The two looked at him in surprise, as he lifted his arms up, glowing. He took the form of the Mystical Elf.

"That's the prince's true identity," said the other Yugi.

The Mystical Elf chanted. When the chant was finished, the unconscious – but still alive – bodies of Jounouchi, Maiku, Mokuno, and Earu appeared.

"Everyone!" said the other Yugi, smiling.

"Mokuno!" said Kaiba, also smiling.

The recently-revived sat up.

"Huh? What happened to us?" asked Jounouchi.

"Setomi!" exclaimed Mokuno. She rushed up to Kaiba, who put her hands on Mokuno's shoulders.

Suddenly, a black portal appeared behind the five. They turned to it.

"That must be the exit," said Kaiba, walking up to it. Mokuno followed.

"Wait a sec, Kaiba!" said Jounouchi. "It wouldn't hurt you to say thanks."

"You couldn't have defeated the Five-Headed Dragon without me," said Kaiba.

"Say what?" said Jounouchi.

Kaiba turned her head back. "Yugi, I want to ask you one thing," she said.

The other Yugi looked up, blinking in surprise.

"Did you know that Dragon Master Knight existed all along?" asked Kaiba.

"Heh. As long as we believe in our cards, they'll always provide a way," said the other Yugi. "I believed in my cards at the time. As did you, Kaiba."

Kaiba turned her head back forward. "Let's go, Mokuno," she said.

Mokuno followed Kaiba to the portal that presumably was the exit.

Jounouchi gritted her teeth.

"Forget about her, Jounouchi," said Maiku.

"Thank you, heroes," said the Mystical Elf. "I will never forget you."

"Michael, Earu, goodbye," said the other Yugi.

"See ya," said Jounouchi.

"Take care," said Maiku.

With that, the three left.

Back in the real world, the security guards had successfully broken into the room. Honda wielded a long metal pipe.

"Honda!" said Ansei.

The guards tried to push past Honda, who blocked them with the pipe.

"You won't get past me!" she said.

Saruwatari turned his head. "What?"

Yugi, Jounouchi, and Mokuno's pods opened.

"Jounouchi!" said Honda. She was glad that the three had made it out. She could use some help fighting these security guards.

"Yugi!" said Ansei, smiling. "Where's Kaiba?"

"She's fine," said Yugi. "She should be back in this world.

"What?" asked Saruwatari.

"Too bad, Saruwatari!" said Mokuno. "Your plot is over!"

"Dammit!" said Saruwatari. "Retreat!" If they continued, not only could they lose their jobs, they could also be arrested for physical assault.

With that, the five security guards fled the room.

"We did it!" said Ansei.

"That's what you get!" said Honda.

"That was a nice nap," said a voice. The five looked around. Maiku stepped out of a room.

"Maiku?" asked Jounouchi.

Maiku stretched and yawned. "You were here, too?" he asked.

"You were nearby," said Yugi.

"Everyone…" said Mokuno. "Thank you. I…"

"Forget it," said Jounouchi, grinning. "Instead of speeches, hurry up and go to your sister, Mokuno."

"Okay!" said Mokuno.

"Let's go home," said Jounouchi.

"I'm starving," said Maiku.

"Me too!" said Ansei.

"Then let's go eat ramen!" said Jounouchi.

"Agreed!" said the six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have anything to say about this arc apart from it being fun to write! I particularly enjoyed poking fun at video game tropes! Heh. I'm going to have fun with the Virtual World arc. I have a particularly fitting explanation for some of the plot holes. In that arc, I think I'm just going to use the anime versions of the card effects, even if I used the manga or real-world effects previously. Why? It's a virtual world! The programming allows for different card effects from the in-universe "real world" card effects! In short, the virtual world arc allows me some more freedom for plot points and the fixing of plot holes, since the nature of the video game medium allows pretty much anything to happen, if you have the knowledge and skill to program it.


	67. New Game

Sugako was in front of the game shop, sweeping. She let out a disappointed sigh.

"Good morning, Ms. Mutou!" said Ansei.

"Oh, good morning, Ansei!" said Sugako.

"I thought I'd walk to school with Yugi today!" said Ansei.

Sugako turned toward the game shop, lifting her head to face a high-up window. "Hey, Yugi!" she said. "Ansei's here to pick you up!"

"D-did you say Ansei?!" asked Yugi. "I'll be right down!" It felt like so long since things were so… normal.

But before she headed downstairs, she made one last look in the mirror. She tried a different look today, mainly tying her hair back and, more importantly, wearing a chain for her puzzle, as opposed to the rope she used before. It would be sturdier, and hopefully harder for some stranger to steal.

She saw the apparition of her other self.

_It looks good on you, partner!_ said the other Yugi. Ever since Duelist Kingdom, it had become much easier for the two to communicate. Now, whichever one was not in control, could appear to the other in the real world in a semi-transparent form.

"Are you sure…?" asked Yugi. "It's kinda flashy…"

_It's still too subtle, if you ask me!_ said the other Yugi. _I think you need some silver chains on your arms!_

"C'mon!" said the other Yugi, embarrassed. "That isn't my style at all!" With that, she took flight to the entrance to the shop.

"Yugi! Did you eat breakfast?" asked Yugi's mother. Her father was off on a business trip, as he often was.

"Sorry Mom! Gotta run!" said Yugi.

_Come on!_ said the other Yugi. _Show Ansei how cool you are!_

"D-don't tease me like that!" protested Yugi.

_I wonder if she's okay,_ thought Yugi's mother. _She's been talking to herself a lot lately…_ It was probably just thinking out loud, but still…

Yugi burst out the door. "Hey Ansei!" she said. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Morning, Yugi!" said Ansei. He then noticed something. "Whoa, a chain?"

Yugi chuckled nervously. "Well," she said, "this puzzle is an important bond between me and the other me! And this chain sort of shows that bond too! Now no one can break it ever again!"

Ansei smiled. _Yugi got to know her other self at Duelist Kingdom,_ he thought. _Now she knows they're always together…_

"See you later, grandma!" said Yugi.

"Bye!" said Sugako.

With that, Yugi and Ansei walked off to school. "Well, that cheered me up," said Ansei.

"Huh? What?" asked Yugi.

"I'm glad to see your grandma doing so well!" said Ansei. "You know, it was scary when Pegasus stole her soul! And then her soul had to come all the way back from Duelist Kingdom!"

"I heard she met my dead grandfather on her way back…" said Yugi. "But, um, just between you and me… Grandma's not too happy right now…"

"What? Why?" asked Ansei, concerned.

"I thought you'd never ask!" said Sugako, startling the other two. "I, Sugako Mutou, at 72 years of age, am facing my biggest crisis ever! My store is in danger of going out of business!" She pointed somewhere. "Behold! Over there!"

Yugi and Ansei looked in the direction Sugako was pointing. The building was rather large compared to the Kame Game Shop, with a banner that read, "Opens tomorrow!" Above the set of double doors leading in was a sign reading "Black Clown," with a large plastic sculpture of a clown right behind it.

"'Black Clown?'" asked Ansei.

"It's a store selling the newest games!" said Yugi. "Tomorrow's the grand opening!"

"Wow…" said Ansei. "A rival game store right across the street, huh?"

"Look at that!" said Sugako. "A crowd, before it's even open… I hear the games sold at the Black Clown can't be purchased anywhere else! It has an exclusive contract with a genius game designer! They make and sell their own games!"

_A game designer…_ thought Yugi. She herself wanted to be one when she grew up.

"And when they open tomorrow, their latest game will go on sale!" said Sugako.

_Latest game, huh…?_ thought Yugi. _I'm sorry, Grandma, but I'm kinda curious…_ Out loud, she said, "Hey, Ansei! Let's scout them out!" With that, the two made their way over. Yugi let out a "Hmm…" when she saw a sign. It read, "The revolutionary new game! D.D.M.! On sale tomorrow!"

_D.D.M.?_ thought the other Yugi. _That must be the new game they're coming out with… I wonder what kind of game it is?_

Suddenly, Ansei saw a frightening sight. When he calmed down, he realized it was just a person in a clown mascot costume. "No thanks…" he said. "I don't need a balloon…" _What a creepy clown,_ he thought. He turned to Yugi. "C'mon," he said. "We'll be late for school. By the way, do you want to do something on Sunday? I thought maybe we could go someplace…"

"Yeah!" said Yugi. With that, the two continued on their way to school.

"So that brat is Yugi…" said the man in the clown costume.

"Yeah, that's her all right," said a girl Yugi's age. "That baby-faced kid is supposed to be some kind of super-gamer… I don't believe it…" She had long black hair, tied back. She wore the boys' uniform.

"If it's Sugako's granddaughter, it wouldn't surprise me…" said the man.

"But is it true, Dad…?" asked the girl. "Did you really lose a game to that woman, Mutou?"

"Yes, it's true," said the man. "It was because of that game that I have to wear a mask to cover my face…"

"I can't forgive them," said the girl.

"Ryuko," said the woman. "I raised you to take revenge for me!"

"I know, Dad," said Ryuko. "Watch me… one by one, I'll take away everything Yugi cares about. Get ready, Yugi. I invented all kinds of games just to fight you!" _I will beat you! For my father! And for the title of "Queen of Games!" And to start with, today I'll steal something important to you…_

Later that day, Yugi and Ansei made it to school, meeting up with Honda, Bakura, and Jounouchi. Jounouchi had just awoken from a nap. "Black Clown?!" asked Jounouchi.

"It's a really tough rival store!" said Ansei.

"Grandma's not doing so good!"

"I know that store!" said Jounouchi. "There was a flyer for it in today's paper!"

"What?!" asked Ansei. "Your family can afford a newspaper subscription now?!"

"Naw! I delivered it!" said Jounouchi. "All the prize money from Duelist Kingdom went to pay for Shizu's operation!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Honda. "How's your brother doing, anyway?"

"They said his vision will be fully restored!" said Jounouchi.

"That's great, Jounouchi!" said Ansei, smiling. "We should all go visit him soon!"

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "He'd like that! By the way, Yugi, what's this new game that the Black Clown's coming out with tomorrow?"

"I don't know," said Yugi. "I think it's called D.D.M., but I don't know what it stands for…"

"D.D.M., huh?" said Jounouchi. "Wonder what it is…"

"I might buy it and not tell Grandma," said Yugi. Suddenly, they heard a girl yell excitedly.

"Oh my god!" she said. "That's awesome!"

The five turned towards the source of the sound.

"Can you do it again?" asked the girl.

"Sure," said a dark-haired individual, who Yugi recognized as Ryuko Otogi, the new student. "But this time, let's bet something! This time, I'll do it with six dice! If this works, let's say… you'll buy me lunch!" She arranged the dice on the table, in two columns of three. Each die had a different number of dots on the top. "Now watch…" she said. She made a series of complex movements that ended in slamming a cup, containing all six dice, upside-down on the table. The girls were silent. When Otogi lifted the cup, all six dice were stacked perfectly on top of one another, with all sides of all dice featuring the same number of dots.

"Wow, that's so cool!" said another girl. Tsukiko and Hikari were facepalming in the background, not getting what all the girls saw in Otogi.

"Who's that?" asked Jounouchi. She had been asleep at the beginning of class, so if anyone introduced themselves, she wouldn't have known.

"That's the new student, Otogi," said Honda. "There's been a lot of new faces since we moved up a grade! But there's no end in sight for our team, right, you guys?"

"Man… I don't like it!" said Jounouchi. "I hate people who use cheap tricks to pick up girls!"

"You're just jealous of whoever's popular!" said Ansei.

"Heh!" said Jounouchi. "I don't need to show off my talents to others!"

"Uh… Jounouchi…" said Honda. "Do you _have_ any talents?"

Jounouchi growled. "Weren't you watching at Duelist Kingdom?!" she asked. "I awoke to my talents on that island! A talent for card games!"

Otogi took notice. "Really… you're good at card games, huh?" she asked. "Is that true?"

"Hmph!" Jounouchi glared at Otogi. "It was a while ago," she said. "You ever hear of this woman named Kate Howard? The American Duel Monsters champion? They say she was one of the world's greatest card players! Well, let's just say she wasn't bad, but she was no match for me!"

"Is it just me or is she totally bragging?" asked Ansei.

"Wow!" said Otogi. "Not bad! Duel Monsters is one of my favorite games too! Of course I've heard of Bandit Kate!"

"Oh, you don't say?" said Jounouchi.

"Do you want to play a little game right now?" asked Otogi.

"Huh? A game?" asked Jounouchi.

"More like a bet than a game… what do you say? We'll use this cup and this die…"

"Bring it on!" said Jounouchi.

"Okay…" said Otogi, smirking slightly.

"You can do it!" said one of the girls.

_Heh heh…_ thought Jounouchi. _I'll beat Otogi and show him who's boss!_

_What kind of game is she thinking of?_ wondered Yugi.

"Take a close look…" said Otogi. "I have a die in my hand… now I put it in the cup…." She shook the cup around some, before slamming it upside down on the table. "I don't have anything in my hands," she said. "I flipped the cup with the die in it, right? Now, can I move the die into my right hand without touching the cup?" Tsukiko suddenly took notice. This could be interesting… "Wanna make a bet?"

_Yeah, right!_ thought Jounouchi. _I know the die's in the cup! There's no way she can do it!_

"If I lose the bet… let's see… I'll do whatever you tell me to for a week!"

"No! Don't do it!" said one of the girls.

"But if you lose," continued Otogi, "you have to do whatever I tell you for a week! No matter what!"

"Sure!" said Jounouchi. "Let's do it!"

"Okay! The bet is placed!" said Otogi.

_Unless he's got some kind of mind powers, there's no way he can move the die!_ thought Jounouchi. _He'd have to teleport it! Just wait… I'll embarrass him in front of the girls! Heh heh heh…_

_I bet there's some kind of loophole Otogi's using!_ thought Tsukiko.

_Of course the die is in the cup!_ thought Yugi. _There's no way Jounouchi can lose!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Otogi chuckled. "As I was talking," she said, "the die should have moved from the cup!"

"What?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Do you think I'm lying? Make sure for yourself!" said Otogi, smirking.

_Otogi seems a little_ too _confident…_ noted Tsukiko.

_No way!_ thought Jounouchi.

_This is a trap!_ thought Yugi.

Jounouchi lifted the cup. "Huh?!" _The die is right here…_ she thought.

Just then, Otogi picked up the die. "See!" she said. "The die moved to my right hand! I didn't touch the cup, did I? I win!"

"Why, you lousy cheater – !"

"That's not fair, Otogi!" said Yugi.

"Isn't the object of a game to outwit your opponent?" asked Otogi.

Jounouchi mentally growled.

"A bet is a bet," said Otogi. "Jounouchi, you'll do whatever I tell you for the rest of the week."

Tsukiko wanted to punch that jerk in the face. Ultimately, she didn't.

_Yugi, I'm going to use your friend to tear apart your stupid friendship!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I genderflipped Jounouchi's parents and Kaiba's father, but not Yugi's mom or Otogi's dad. This was the point where I decided not to genderflip characters if they didn't have first names.
> 
> And also, the reference to the dead grandpa was originally a dead grand _ma_. Yugi and Sugoroku look too alike _not_ to be biologically related, so if I flipped Sugoroku, it only makes sense to change the reference.
> 
> Yugi wanting to be a game designer is canon! According to Kazuki Takahashi, Yugi becomes one post-canon! I know death of the author is a thing, but I still really like this idea!
> 
> Also, I decided to have fem!Otogi look androgynous and dress in the boys' uniform, because I wanted to have at least one [Bifauxnen](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Bifauxnen) character. There will be an explanation in the next chapter for how she gets away with it.
> 
> Also, Otogi was the other reason besides Bakura for me leaving the background characters alone. I really liked the idea of fem!Bakura and fem!Otogi having fangirls just like their canon versions.


	68. Rigged

"You don't have to do it, Jounouchi!" said Yugi. "That game wasn't fair!"

"Unfair…?" asked Otogi. "Hmph… just what was unfair about it?"

"You said you would move the die from the cup to your hand!" said Yugi. "But all you did was make Jounouchi move the cup and then you grabbed the die!"

"That's right…!" said Otogi. "But the only rule was that I couldn't touch the cup! And I didn't break that rule! That's what the bet was about!"

"B-but…!"

"Listen," said Otogi. "Jounouchi never realized the blind spot of this game. That's why she lost!"

"Blind spot…?" asked Yugi.

"It's impossible for me to get the die out of the cup without touching the cup!" said Otogi. "So what do I do? Simple. I let the opponent move it. Because the only way Jounouchi can be sure the die is in the cup is for her to move it."

"Are you trying to say you wanted me to move the cup all along?!" asked Jounouchi.

Otogi laughed. "Figured it out yet?"

"One more time!" said Jounouchi. "Let me play one more time!"

"Sure…" said Otogi. "But if you lose this time, you'll have to do as I say for _two_ weeks!"

"You're on!" said Jounouchi. _This time I'll win!_ she thought.

"Jounouchi, don't risk it!" said Yugi.

"Stay outta this, Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

"Let's use cards for the next bet!" said Otogi.

"Fine! I'll do it!" said Jounouchi.

"Here's four aces," said Otogi, bringing out four playing cards. "Now I'll shuffle them and place them face-down. There are four suits in a deck of cards. Here's the deal, Jounouchi! I want you to draw two of these four cards! If both cards are the same color, then you win! Got it?"

Jounouchi looked at the cards. _If I draw two cards, there's four possibilities, matching reds, matching blacks, and the other two possibilities are combinations of red and black! Let's see… two out of four… so that's the same as… all right! This seems like a fair game!_ Out loud, she said, "All right! Here goes!" She looked at the four cards, eventually picking the middle two. _Ugh!_ she thought. Red and black! I lose!

"Looks like I win!" said Otogi.

"I lost to a guy…" muttered Jounouchi. "A guy who looks so much like a girl… and twice, to boot!"

"Jounouchi… I'm a girl," said Otogi.

"What?!" said Jounouchi. "Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"You'd think my first name being Ryuko would be a dead giveaway…" said Otogi.

"That's why you shouldn't sleep in class, Jounouchi," said Honda. "Say, isn't wearing the boys' uniform against the rules?"

"Actually, the school rules don't say much about uniforms," said Otogi. "All they say is that Domino High School students must wear official Domino High School uniforms." Tugging on her jacket, she said, "And if this isn't an official uniform, I don't know what all the boys are wearing."

"What?!" asked Honda. "You mean I could have worn the boys' uniform this whole time and not gotten in trouble?!"

"That's what you get for not reading the rules carefully," said Otogi.

_Evidently Honda didn't notice I was a girl, too,_ thought Tsukiko.

"Anyway, I wanna play one more time, darn it!" said Jounouchi.

"Don't you ever learn?" asked Otogi, further infuriating Jounouchi. Otogi shuffled the cards again.

Jounouchi picked two cards. _Diamonds and clubs. I lose again! Crap! It should be a fifty-fifty chance! Why can't I win?!_

"Jounouchi, you really are unlucky," said Otogi. "You can't even beat me when the odds are even with no tricks! Anyway, I expect you to keep your promise! You will do as I say!"

Jounouchi mentally growled.

"Let's see…" said Otogi. "For now, my first command is, don't talk to anybody besides me!"

"Otogi! She's your classmate! That's no way for friends to be!" protested Yugi.

"Yeah, you don't have to listen to her, Jounouchi!" said Honda.

"Yugi, stay out of this," said Jounouchi. "This is my problem."

"But Jounouchi…" said Yugi.

"Who said you could talk?" said Otogi, flicking a die at Jounouchi's face.

"You dirty…"

"That's it…" said Yugi, eerily calm. The other Yugi took over.

"Otogi!" said the other Yugi. "You've got some guts messing with my friend right in front of me!"

_Heh… there she is,_ Otogi thought. _This must be the "other" Yugi I heard about…_

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi. Otogi didn't bother correcting Jounouchi's behavior. The bet was just a means to an end.

"Otogi!" said the other Yugi. "You're playing with _me_ now! If I win, you'll do one thing I ask you to!"

"Fine," said Otogi. "But if you lose, you've got to answer to me."

"Okay!" said the other Yugi.

_I can't lose at_ this _game…_ thought Otogi. She mentally chuckled.

_Other me, are you going to play Four Aces with her?_ asked Yugi.

_Why do you ask?_ asked the other Yugi.

_Something about that game doesn't seem right,_ said Yugi.

_I'm glad you noticed, partner!_ said the other Yugi.

_What? You mean it_ isn't? asked Yugi.

_Otogi set up a shell game against Jounouchi!_ said the other Yugi.

_Shell game?_ asked Yugi.

_That's right,_ said the other Yugi. _A shell game is a misleading game which is tilted in favor of whoever initiates it! Take Four Aces, for example. The chances of drawing two aces of the same color from four may seem like fifty-fifty at first… but people are fooled by drawing two cards at a time. Think about it by drawing only one card at a time! After you draw one, whether it's red or black, there are three cards left face-down, and only one card of the three is the same color!_

_The_ real _odds are one out of three!_ said Yugi.

_You're right,_ said the other Yugi.

"Let's go with four aces," said Otogi.

"No," said the other Yugi. "You'll add a joker to that!"

Otogi raised her brows. Why a joker?

"The rule is, we'll take turns drawing from these five cards, and whoever collects two cards of the same color wins!" explained the other Yugi. "Except! You lose if you draw the joker! If we both collect one of each color, it's a tie! Okay?"

"…Fine!" said Otogi. She set a joker in with the other cards, then shuffled them into a random order on the table. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"I'll go first!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. Ace of hearts.

Otogi went next. She drew the ace of spades.

The other Yugi drew her second card. Ace of clubs.

Otogi drew her second card. She was nervous about this one…

"Time to show your cards!" said the other Yugi. "I have red and black!

"Black and joker!" said Otogi.

"I win," said the other Yugi.

"Crap! I want a rematch!" said Otogi.

"Okay!" said the other Yugi. "I won, so I'll go first again!"

They drew their cards, as before. They showed the cards they drew. The other Yugi had an ace of clubs and an ace of spades. Otogi had an ace of diamonds and a joker.

"No way!" said Otogi. _I lost again…_

"Yes! Yugi wins again!" said Honda.

"Try again in ten years!" said Ansei.

_Shit,_ thought Otogi. _Why do I keep losing?_ Could this game be…? "Yugi! Is this some kind of shell game?!"

"Maybe," said the other Yugi, smirking.

"Shell game?" asked Jounouchi.

"An unfair game," explained the other Yugi. "It means you distract someone from the terrible odds! Jounouchi, you lost because the game was rigged!"

Tsukiko chuckled quietly. This Yugi kid was clever. Wait, wasn't she…?! No, she couldn't be… but what were the odds of someone imitating such a complicated hairstyle? But then, people _have_ done stupider things in the name of fashion…

Otogi mentally growled. _Wait a second,_ she thought. _There's no way to win this game unless the other player gets the joker! If the joker is left at the end, the game has to be a tie! That means whoever draws the joker first loses! But the chances of drawing the joker out of five cards is always one in five…! This game isn't rigged?! It's a fair game! She beat me twice, by sheer luck!_

"Thinks she's so smart, beatin' me in a rigged game!" muttered Jounouchi.

"Otogi, Jounouchi won't obey your orders!" said the other Yugi. "You can't break our friendship with a game! And don't you forget it!"

_Yugi, I_ will _beat you next time!_ thought Otogi. _The next game will be D.D.M.! Dungeon Dice Monsters!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deliberately downplayed some aspects of what Otogi did compared to the original manga. For example, in the manga, when Otogi said that Jounouchi was to not talk to anyone besides him, that Jounouchi was to bark when addressed by him. I felt that was going too far. I really do not like it in fiction when sympathetic characters are humiliated. It feels like… I don't know… secondhand humiliation? In addition, I felt it really wasn't necessary.
> 
> On a lighter note, I had to alter some of the dialogue that referred to Otogi in order to make the gag of Jounouchi learning her gender work. The reason? From the start, I wanted Otogi to look pretty much the same as in canon, because I wanted to include at least one [Bifauxnen](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Bifauxnen) character in the fic. This also included the gang calling Otogi by last name like in the anime, since the manga (or at least the Viz translation) has them calling him by first name. The reason? I thought it would be funny to parody the trope of [characters being revealed to be female after some badass feat](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SamusIsAGirl) by having Jounouchi, and _only_ Jounouchi, be surprised that Otogi was female.
> 
> The reason for Otogi and Tsukiko wearing the boys' uniforms and getting away with it was inspired by the Revolutionary Girl Utena manga. It may have messed up pretty much everything else, but it _did_ at least explain why Utena could wear the "boys' uniform" (using the term loosely, as no one else wears anything like Utena's uniform) without getting in trouble.


	69. Game Start

Yugi, Ansei, and Bakura had gathered outside the Black Clown. Yugi had gone experimental with clothes today, going with a black shirt and jeans with a gray vest.

"Wow! Look at that line!" said Yugi. Indeed, there was a large crowd around the three.

"Everybody's been waiting here since late last night to be first to get a copy of D.D.M.!" said Bakura.

"They don't even know what the game is, and it's this popular?!" asked Ansei.

Yugi looked at her watch. 10:30. "Looks like Jounouchi's late…" she said. "There's only half an hour until they open! I don't have enough money to buy copies for me and Jounouchi… Grandma's been worried about the store, so she cut my allowance. Since it's just the first day, they probably don't have many in stock anyway!"

"There won't be any left by the time Jounouchi gets here!" said Ansei. "It's her fault for being late!" Suddenly, the three heard a voice.

"Hey, Yugi!" said Jounouchi, running up to the others. "Sorry I'm late!"

"The end of the line's that way!" said Ansei.

"C'mon, don't be so mean!" said Jounouchi.

"I'm glad you made it in time!" said Yugi.

"Course I did!" said Jounouchi. "Everyone wants a copy of D.D.M.! I'm gonna get my hands on the first day limited edition and sell it for a good price!"

"I knew it…" muttered Ansei.

Yugi merely looked at the other two, as if to say, "Um, guys…?" She sighed. "This store's surrounded by people, but look at my folks' game store across the street…"

"Sorry, man," said Jounouchi.

"It looks like a ghost town…" said Ansei.

"Nobody tell Grandma I bought a game from the Black Clown, okay?" asked Yugi, in an attempt to break the tension. "They're our rivals, after all!" She laughed. The others gave her odd looks, having seen something past her... "But you know me! If there's a new game out, I gotta get it! It doesn't matter if it's a rival store!"

Ansei was silent. Yugi sometimes did _not_ know when to shut up…

"Just between us, Grandma's taste in games is kinda old-fashioned. It's no wonder our store's not popular!"

"Yugi…" said Jounouchi. This was getting awkward.

Ansei chuckled nervously.

"…What's wrong?" asked Yugi, having finally noticed her friends' reactions. Or rather, lack thereof. She looked around her. When she turned around…

Sugako's wrinkled face was leering at her disapprovingly. "Why you… you…"

_Grandma!_ thought Yugi.

"You traitor!" she practically yelled. Yugi's eyes widened in terror. She couldn't even _remember_ the last time her grandma had so much as raised her voice! Sugako began ranting.

Meanwhile, Mr. Otogi was looking down at the situation, unmasked. His face was disfigured from that incident so long ago… "Yugi's here…" he murmured to himself. "And Sugako too…" He heard the door open. He turned around, putting it back on.

"Oh… sorry, Dad," said Otogi.

"It's okay, come in!" said Mr. Otogi. "Is it time, Ryuko?"

"Yeah…" said Otogi. But there were doubts on her mind… "We're all set up," she continued. "All that's left is to open the store."

Mr. Otogi laughed. "At long last, the curtain will go up on the drama of our revenge… eh, Ryuko?"

Otogi was silent. "The other day…" she said, "I challenged Yugi to a game to see how good she was… and she's more than good. She's amazing…"

Mr. Otogi growled under his breath. " _What_ are you saying?" he asked, anger barely under control. "You didn't _lose,_ did you…?"

"Uh… well…" Otogi did not know how to phrase this without invoking her father's wrath.

"Did you _lose?!_ You cannot lose to Sugako's granddaughter!"

"I'm sorry, Dad…" said Otogi. "I tried my best…"

Mr. Otogi let out a wordless yell. He removed his mask. "Do you see me, Ryuko? Look at my face! Look! _Look!_ "

Otogi was silent. Her father's face, wrinkled enough that he could pass for Otogi's _grand_ father, was only further marred by his positively murderous glare.

"Do you _know_ who did this to my face? It was her grandmother, Sugako…"

"I-I know!" said Otogi. "You've told me that since I was little… Dad… please put your mask back on…"

Mr. Otogi did just that. "I-I'm sorry, Ryuko…" she said. "Did I scare you? I won't do it anymore… Ryuko… you're all I have…"

"It's okay, Mom," said Otogi. This was far from the first time she's had to say that… "I've taken on your sadness and anger… so watch me. I'll get revenge! On Yugi, and on Sugako…"

11:00 AM. The Black Clown was open. The crowd rushed in. It was such a huge crowd that some people had to wait outside, and the boosters had to be limited to six per customer. Yugi had gotten separated from the others.

Jounouchi, meanwhile, had gotten her hands on a booster pack. She ripped it open enthusiastically. "Hmm…" she said, after removing something from the pack. "Dice…?"

"These dice have different symbols on each of them…" said Bakura.

"How do you play this…?" asked Jounouchi.

"Let's try playing it at my house!" said Sugako, who had calmed down considerably.

"You said it!" said Jounouchi.

"Where'd Yugi go?" asked Ansei.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, Yugi was wondering if everybody else had gotten a pack when the mascot, a man in a clown costume, approached her. The clown gestured towards the front of the line.

"Huh… me?" Yugi asked. "What is it?"

The clown continued gesturing, taking advantage of Yugi's distracted state to perform a sleight of hand.

Yugi moved towards the direction the clown was gesturing in. She realized something. She clucked. "She let me cut in line! This is my lucky day!" She then heard a voice behind her.

"Excuse me, ma'am…?" asked a man. Yugi turned around. There were two police officers.

"Will you come with us to the office…?" asked the other.

"Huh? Why?!" asked Yugi. The officers started dragging her someplace. "Wh-what did I do…?!" she asked. "H-hey!"

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I do believe you are in illegal possession of store merchandise," explained one of the officers.

"What?!" asked Yugi. "You think I was shoplifting?!" She would _never_ do such a thing!

"Yes," said the officer. "Just to be sure, we want to search you!"

"No way!" said Yugi. "I'd never steal! That's impossible!"

The other officer removed Yugi's vest.

"We'll hold on to this pendant for now!" said the first officer.

"Hey!" protested Yugi. "That's my Millennium Puzzle! Give it back! It's really important to me!"

"You can have it back when you're proven innocent!" said the first officer.

Meanwhile, the second officer was rummaging through the vest pockets. "What's this?" he asked. "D.D.M. packs in her jacket pocket?!"

"What?!" asked Yugi. _That can't be!_ she thought. She hadn't even so much as _touched_ any packs!

"This is a serious problem, ma'am," said another man's voice. Yugi turned to see the source. The clown from earlier. "It appears that underneath that innocent mask is the face of a thief."

"I didn't steal anything!" said Yugi. "Give me back my puzzle!"

"Little children who won't say sorry need corporal punishment!" said the clown. "Take her away!"

"Darn it! Let me go!" protested Yugi.

The first officer handed Mr. Otogi the Millennium Puzzle. He mentally chuckled. _Now the Millennium Puzzle is ours,_ he thought.

The officers dragged Yugi to an incredibly dark room, with a checkered pattern on the floor. She looked up when a set of lights turned on, revealing a large table, with a shadowy figure on the other side. "I've been waiting for you, Yugi," she said.

Yugi stood up. "Otogi?" This time, Otogi was wearing black jeans, an equally black tank top, and a red vest with a necklace.

"Sit down," said Otogi. "Let's play a game."

"What are you doing here…?" asked Yugi. "Where am I…?"

"My father's the owner of the Black Clown," said Otogi. "And I'm the inventor of D.D.M., the game we're about to play! Now I'll explain the rules of D.D.M.. D.D.M. is short for Dungeon Dice Monsters."

Yugi sat down at the table. The playing area was black, with white dots arranged so as to resemble a grid. Otogi pulled out a briefcase, then opened it, revealing the contents to Yugi. "These are the dice we'll use to play! Each player will choose a pool of twelve dice. There are over 500 dice variations, each with different levels and abilities. Choose the dice that suit your strategy! I've already chosen my own pool. Yugi, I will allow you to choose the dice you want…" Otogi walked over to the other side of the table and set the briefcase in front of Yugi to let her look at the dice available.

Yugi tentatively picked up a couple of dice. _There's all kinds of weird colors and symbols,_ she thought. _What dice do I choose?_

"The color of the dice indicates the type of creature," explained Otogi. "White dice are spellcasters, blue are warriors, yellow are undead, green are beasts, and red are dragons. The one exception is the black dice. They contain special abilities."

Yugi picked blue, white, and black dice for her pool.

"The stage for our game is the dark field," said Otogi. "A land of perpetual darkness, deep underground."

Two holes opened up in the table.

"The game is ready," said Otogi. "Place all your dice in the shooter."

Yugi did exactly that.

"The table will automatically dispense your dice pool," said Otogi. "It should be shuffled fairly. The dice sequence is an important factor in the game. Now, take three dice!"

Yugi did that, after a set of three dice appeared from an opening on the edge of the table next to her. After that, small figures appeared on the board. The one on Yugi's end resembled a mage, with a pointy hat, a cape with a tall collar, and a heart-shaped torso. The one on Otogi's end resembled the clown mascot, who Yugi suspected was Otogi's father, as she had not seen any other employees in the shop.

"These figures represent the players' life," said Otogi. "I call them the Dungeon Masters. The Dungeon Master has three life points. In other words, you lose if you take three hits. All right, Yugi! Let's go!"


	70. Dungeon Dice Monsters

With that, the game began, each player having three life points.

"I'll go first!" said Otogi, rolling her three dice. Two of the dice landed on a star symbol, and the third landed on a symbol of two crossing swords. "Yes!" she said. "I got two Summon Crests! When two out of the three dice show the same crest, that power can be activated. In other words, I get to summon one of my creatures!"

_Summon a creature?_ thought Yugi. This sounded somewhat like Duel Monsters… but she'd wait and see before making comparisons.

"I'll place one of the dice on the field," said Otogi.. "I'll choose this red dragon die! Dimension Dice!"

The sight was incredible. The die unfolded in a cross shape. In the square where the die originally was, there was a creature. It was called Wizard Dragon. A level 2 monster, it had 300 attack and 200 defense, with an ability to move any creature two spaces with the use of a Magic Crest.

"This is a tactical combat game where you create your own dungeon and attack the enemy's territory!" said Otogi. She was inspired by the many roguelike games she played, with their randomly-generated dungeons, and, of course, Duel Monsters, though she tried to make it distinct from it. It also had Fire Emblem elements, such as an army controlled by the player, and a leader that had to be kept alive in order to win.

_I see,_ thought Yugi. _Every time you summon a creature, you also expand the dungeon, so every die you play affects the game in more ways than one!_

"It's your turn, Yugi!" said Otogi. "Roll three dice!"

_They still have my Millennium Puzzle,_ thought Yugi. _I can't rely on the other me!_ Out loud, she said, "Otogi! You've got to promise me! If I win, give back my Millennium Puzzle!"

"Yeah! I promise!" said Otogi. Not that she was going to lose at her own game.

_I can win by myself!_ thought Yugi. She rolled her three dice. "The crests are all different!" she said. Indeed, the crests were an arrow, a pentagram, and the crossing swords.

Otogi chuckled. "Too bad, Yugi!" she said. "Your summon failed! The dice you chose were high-level, meaning they're difficult to summon! There are six different crests. You can see them on the dice. The star is a Summon Crest, the arrow is movement, the pentagram is magic, the swords are attack, the shield is defense, and the circle with spikes is a trap! And then there's levels. For example, my monster on the field, Wizard Dragon, is Level 2! Level is a measure of power, of course, but what do levels have to do with the crests, you ask? It's determined by the number of Summon Crests on the creature dice! For example, on Wizard Dragon's dice, there are three Summon Crests. In other words, the chances of summoning him are one in two! Wizard Dragon is easy to summon, but in return, its level is low! But take a look at your dice!"

Yugi picked up her dice. "All of them only have one Summon Crest!" she said.

"That's right," said Otogi. "The less Summon Crests there are, the lower the chances of summoning! You take a greater risk to summon a tougher monster! The outcome of this game will be decided by how many creatures you bring to the field. If you only choose high-level dice, you'll have no chance of winning, unless you've got great luck…"

_Oh, no!_ thought Yugi. _I didn't realize the rules when I chose my dice! Their levels are too high!_

"Yugi, you failed your summon, so you can't play any dice on the board… that means it's my turn!" Otogi drew three more dice, placing two of her previous dice in an opening made specifically to return unused dice to the pool. She rolled her new dice.

"Yes!" she said. "Two Summon Crests again!" The third had been a Movement Crest. "I can summon a creature from one of the three dice!"

She summoned another monster. The die unfolded a different way from the last one, the shape resembling a broken staircase.

"You must set the dice so the pieces of your dungeon link up," explained Otogi. "Plus, I got a Movement Crest, so I will move one of my creatures one space." She moved her new monster one space forward.

Yugi drew three dice and rolled. Once again, no matches.

"If you don't summon a creature soon, my creatures will walk all over you!" said Otogi. She laughed.

Yugi gulped. _I'll lose if this keeps up!_ she thought.

Meanwhile, Mr. Otogi was watching the game, peeping through a pair of eyeholes in the wall.

"Mr. Clown!" said an officer.

"Eh?"

"Yugi's friends are looking for her," explained the officer.

"Hmph!" said Mr. Otogi. "Tell them something and get rid of them!" _Just you wait, Sugako,_ he thought. _Soon our long struggle over the Millennium Puzzle will be resolved at last…_ He mentally chuckled.

Meanwhile, in the main part of the store, the officer said, "Like I told you before, ma'am, I haven't seen the person you're talking about!"

"You're lying!" said Jounouchi, absolutely pissed off by this point. "I _know_ Yugi came here to buy a game! And she never came out! She vanished in this store!"

"As you can see, we're very crowded!" said the officer. "She probably got tired of waiting in line, gave up on the game, and went home!"

"She'd go without _food_ for a day before she'd give up on a game!" said Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi, there's nothing we can do," said Sugako. "Let's wait at my house, maybe she'll show up after all. She's in high school! She's too old to get lost!" She chuckled.

"Something's fishy!" said Jounouchi. "Why would she leave without telling us?"

"Let's take Ms. Mutou's offer and wait there…" said Ansei.

_I have a bad feeling about this…_ thought Bakura. After letting the others know of her plans, she stayed behind.

Back in the basement, Otogi had summoned yet another monster.

"What's the matter, Yugi? Pretty soon my dungeon will reach your dungeon master!"

_I'll lose if I can't summon a creature soon…_ thought Yugi. _Please! I need a pair of Summon Crests!_ "It's my turn!" she said out loud. She rolled her three dice. No Summon Crests. _Aggh!_ she thought. _They won't pair up no matter how many times I roll!_

Otogi chuckled. "Yugi, is _this_ the extent of your gaming skills I've heard so much about? Now I know the truth. Without the Millennium Puzzle, you're worse than some kid on the street! But don't collapse into despair yet. Because I intend to utterly crush you!" She rolled her dice. Two Summon Crests and a Trap Crest. She laughed. "And now I'm right in your face! Dimension Dice! I summon the Twin-Headed Griffon!" At level 2, it had 300 attack and 250 defense. One more space, and it would hit Yugi's Dungeon Master. "This is checkmate!"

_Ghh… if I can't… if I can't roll a Summon Crest on my next turn… I won't be able to stop her from killing me!_ thought Yugi.

"C'mon, Yugi!" said Otogi. "It's your turn!"

Yugi thought of her other self. _And if I lose, I can't get the Millennium Puzzle back! Other me! I_ will _get you back! Even if I must risk everything! I can't lose!_

_It's all over!_ thought Otogi. _Her chances of summoning a creature are less than one in six!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Yugi rolled her dice. "Yes!" she exclaimed, grinning. "I got two Summon Crests!" She also had a Magic Crest.

Otogi was shocked. _Two Summon Crests? With level 4 dice?!_

"Dimension Dice!" said Yugi. The creature that she summoned was Little Wizard, a level 4 creature with 500 attack and 600 defense, with the ability to attack monsters two spaces away with the use of a Magic Crest. Otogi had, admittedly, based it on a Duel Monsters card. "Magic Lightning Rod!" Little Wizard had beaten Twin-Headed Griffon.

Otogi chuckled. "Good job, but it might be too late. My dungeon has already reached your territory!" _Let's see if you can hold your ground with just one creature…_ she thought. _Just try it, Yugi!_

_Otogi! The game has just begun!_ thought Yugi.

Otogi drew three dice and rolled them. Two Summon Crests and a Movement Crest. "Dimension Dice! I summon the Bomb Lizard, level 2!"

_Now there's even more enemies,_ thought Yugi.

"The Bomb Lizard isn't that strong," said Otogi, "but it has a special power! When I collect two Trap Crests, it can bomb and destroy any one enemy!"

_This is bad,_ thought Yugi. _I have to bolster my defense… there are monsters coming from all sides!_ "It's my turn!" she said out loud. She drew three dice. _This die has three stars! Three Summon Crests! There's a good chance I can summon a creature!_ She rolled the dice. Two Summon Crests and an Attack Crest. "Yes! I can summon! Dimension Dice! Crocosaurus, level 4!" It had 600 attack and 500 defense, with the ability to use two Attack Crests to deal 1200 damage to any enemy within two spaces.

Otogi mentally chuckled. _Indeed, Crocosaurus has high attack and defense… but depending on what crests you use, you can perform all sorts of combo attacks in this game!_ "My turn!" she said out loud. She drew three dice and rolled them. Two Trap Crests and a Summon Crest.

_She can't summon…_ thought Yugi. _Two Trap Crests! But that means…!_

"That's right!" said Otogi. "This is what I was waiting for! With two Trap Crests, Bomb Lizards can use his special power, Bomb Throw!" Indeed, the anthropomorphic lizard threw a bomb at Crocosaurus, killing it. Otogi chuckled. "Sorry to kill him right after he appeared." Of course, she said that with a clear degree of irony.

"My turn!" said Yugi, drawing three dice. She rolled. Movement, magic, and summon. _Not again!_ she thought. _Summon failed!_

"Let me show you how it's done!" said Otogi. She drew three dice and rolled them. "I summon another creature!" Gilaforce. 200 attack, 150 defense. "Begin the siege!"

_Am I finished…?_ wondered Yugi.

"C'mon, it's your turn!" said Otogi, mockingly. "Don't make me wait, Yugi!"

Yugi turned her head downwards, closing her eyes. _Otogi designed this game,_ she thought. _She's as good at it as Pegasus was in Duel Monsters… I never had a chance…_

"What's wrong, are you _scared?_ " asked Otogi. "Don't disappoint me, Yugi! I _know_ you're better than this! I know you've defeated countless powerful enemies with the power of the Millennium Puzzle!"

Yugi's eyes widened. _Otogi knows about the Millennium Puzzle?_

"My dad's told me about the Millennium Puzzle ever since I was a little kid," continued Otogi. "'The one who solves the legendary puzzle will be given the title 'King of Games'… or Queen of Games, in this case… and you are the fulfillment of that prophecy. You, Yugi Mutou! You're the one!"

Yugi looked up at Otogi, a determined glint in her eyes.

_Yes,_ thought Otogi. _Much better._ "I've been yearning to play against _you,_ the one who solved the Millennium Puzzle! I stole the Millennium Puzzle from you because I wanted to test your _true_ ability!"

Yugi was briefly silent. "Otogi!" she said. "How did your father know about the Millennium Puzzle?"

"It was long before we were born," said Otogi. "Back then, there was a woman who was a legendary master of games. My father aspired to be like her. He asked to be her apprentice. One day she told him about the Millennium Puzzle. It was a legend passed down from ancient times. If anyone could beat her, it would be the one who solved the Puzzle."

_Her master was my grandmother?!_ wondered Yugi.

"So my father challenged her over the Millennium Puzzle… and he _lost!_ " continued Otogi. "They had played the Devil's Board Game, which no sane person should ever play! As the price of losing that game, my father became a hideous shadow of his former self… Yugi! Our battle has been passed down through the generations! But, the sixteen years I've lived weren’t spent just for my father's revenge. I want the Millennium Puzzle! I've been chasing its legend all my life! Yugi, the winner of this game gets the Puzzle!"

Now Yugi was _truly_ determined to win this game.

_I_ will _beat you and obtain the Millennium Puzzle!_ thought Otogi. _The power of the Puzzle should belong to me! Yugi! Show your true power, the power that solved the Millennium Puzzle!_

"My turn!" said Yugi. She drew three dice and rolled. _Yes!_ she thought. _I got a pair of Summon Crests! What die will I play…? This one! I'll gamble on its abilities!_

Otogi looked at the board in confusion. _Yugi placed the die so far away…_ she thought. _And it's still intact! Is she not going to Dimension it?_

"That's right," said Yugi. "I won't Dimension this die yet."

_True…_ thought Otogi. _The rules_ do _allow her to wait to activate it on her next turn. What are you up to, Yugi?_ She drew three dice. _While Yugi is holding her action, I'll keep up the pressure with my creatures!_ She rolled the dice. "Yes!" she said out loud. "Two Movement Crests and an Attack Crest! My frontline monsters move closer!" 

_They're right next to my Dungeon Master!_ thought Yugi. Indeed, it was surrounded. 

"In addition," said Otogi, "I rolled an Attack Crest. And that means I can attack your Dungeon Master!" 

Yugi now had two life points. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right? 

Things did, in fact, go wrong again. 

"Now!" said Yugi. 

_What?!_ thought Otogi. _What could she possibly...?_

"Dimension Dice!" said Yugi. "Iron Golem Gorogon Level 3!" It had 450 attack and 400 defense. It had the ability to destroy all enemies, both allies and foes, in a straight line. 

_Curses!_ thought Otogi. _She's going to use Gorogon's power!_

"Rolling Crush!" said Yugi. "Lizard Dragon and Bomb Lizard die!" 

_Did Yugi sacrifice her own life to destroy two of my creatures?_ wondered Otogi. 

Now Yugi had one life point. 

"Sorry, Otogi," said Yugi. "You won't get the Millennium Puzzle! It's like my second heart! It's irreplaceable! I won't let you have it!" 

Otogi chuckled. "The first time I saw you," she admitted, "I thought you were just a timid little nerd. But I take that back! I'm not surprised you solved the Millennium Puzzle!" 

_Why is Otogi after the Millennium Puzzle?_ wondered Yugi. _She said my grandma and her dad fought over the Millennium Puzzle a long time ago… and Grandma won…_ "Otogi, are you trying to take revenge for your father?" she asked. 

"Revenge? Of course that's a part of it!" said Otogi. "You and your grandmother will pay for what you did to my dad! But more than that, I want to beat you, Yugi. That is what my heart is set on." _I will win this battle and become the new heir to the legend!_ "Yugi! It's your turn!" 

"I accept your challenge, Otogi!" said Yugi. "I won't lose!" _As long as Gorogon remains guarding,_ she thought, _the enemy shouldn't be able to attack my Dungeon Master… but I can't win this game just by defending! I have to get to her side of the dungeon and reach her Dungeon Master!_ She drew three dice and rolled. Two Summon Crests and an Attack Crest. "Yes! Another summon!" she said. "Dimension Dice! I summon Duker of Twin Swords!" With 360 attack and 200 defense, it could multiply its attack power by any number of Attack Crests used or move two spaces. "I'm not ready to mount an attack yet," said Yugi, "so I'll save my Attack Crests for later in my crest pool." 

"Very well," said Otogi. "My turn!" She drew three dice and rolled. "Dimension Dice! Flame Armor Dragon level 3!" It had 400 attack and 380 defense, with the ability to destroy any one enemy with three Magic Crests or add an enemy's attack power to its own with three Trap Crests. 

"Perhaps I'll have Flame Armor Dragon attack on this turn…" said Otogi. She had three Movement Crests, two Trap Crests, two Magic Crests, and an Attack Crest. 

_Go ahead and try!_ thought Yugi. _My creature won't just curl up and die!_ She had three Movement Crests, two Trap Crests, two Magic Crests, and two Attack Crests. 

"Here I go!" said Otogi. "Flame Armor Dragon! Advance two spaces and attack the enemy!" Flame Armor Dragon tried to attack the Duker of Twin Swords. 

_Here goes!_ thought Yugi. "I use two Attack Crests!" she said out loud. "Twin Sword Renzokugiri! The Flame Armor Dragon is chopped to pieces!" _Yes!_

Otogi chuckled, then laughed out loud. "Nice job destroying Flame Armor Dragon!" she said. "But I knew how many crests you had saved up, and I knew my creature would lose. Yugi, this game isn't decided just by monster battles. Haven't you figured it out? Take a good look at the board!" 

Yugi did exactly that. _Oh no!_ she thought. _When I played the dice on the field to summon the creature, I had to place it to connect to one of my own corridors! But Otogi's dungeon is cutting off my path! There's hardly any room left for me to play my dice!_

"You see, Yugi?" asked Otogi. "You only have room to summon a few more creatures, and that's if you're lucky. The die can only unfold in thirty possible ways! One of the winning strategies in this game is to create a direct path to the enemy, while cutting off your opponent's potential paths! But you can still win, Yugi, if you can reach my Dungeon Master and defeat all the creatures in your way!" 

_That's impossible,_ thought Yugi. _Otogi has too many creatures! I don't stand a chance without summoning more!_

"It's my turn!" said Otogi, drawing three dice. _At last!_ she thought. "Yugi!" she said. "Look at this die! This is what's known as a Rare Black Die! It is a rare die equipped with a special ability, even by the standards of black dice! This red star is a sign of its power! And on my next turn, I see I'll draw another Rare Black Die! When the two Rare Black Dice come together, a deadly combo will begin! So get ready!" She rolled the dice. Two Summon Crests and a Magic Crest. The black die had landed on a Summon Crest. "Dimension Dice!" she said, playing the die on her end of the field. The black die unfolded. "Dark Eye Stalker level 2!" It had 200 attack points and 250 defense points. It had the ability to control one enemy with two Magic Crests. But more importantly, there was something unusual going on. 

_What?_ thought Yugi. _On that dungeon square… a crest I've never seen before!_

Otogi chuckled. "That is a Warp Crest! It comes into play when two Rare Black Dice are played on the field! It allows monsters to warp from one to the other!" 

_There's still one place left in my territory where I can play the Dimension Dice!_ thought Yugi. 

_I left that one corner open so I can place my Rare Black die there and teleport my army in an instant!_ thought Otogi. _If this Rare Black combo works, my victory is assured!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong _this_ time, surely! 

Things went wrong for the third time that match. 

"Otogi, there's one thing you overlooked," said Yugi. 

_What is it…?_ wondered Otogi. 

"I have a Rare Black Die too!" said Yugi. 

_What?! How did she – ?!_

"It's my turn!" said Yugi. She rolled her dice. Two Summon Crests and an Attack Crest. _Yes! I did it!_ she thought. "Dimension Dice!" Before Otogi could identify what Yugi had summoned, the creature leapt into the Warp Crest. "Strike Ninja appears at the Warp Crest on the other end! Eat shuriken, Dark Eye Stalker! Now _I'm_ in your territory!" 

_Strike Ninja is one of the fastest creatures in the game,_ thought Otogi. _It can move three spaces with just one movement crest! On Yugi's next turn, she'll be able to attack my Dungeon Master! If I don't summon something this turn, I'll lose!_ Out loud, she said, "It's my turn!" She drew three dice and rolled. _Grr…_ she thought. _I couldn't summon!_ Indeed, she had rolled Magic, Trap, and Summon Crests. 

"Now I get to go!" said Yugi, drawing three dice. She rolled, getting two Movement Crests and a Magic Crest. She moved Strike Ninja in front of Otogi's Dungeon Master. "Strike Ninja, attack the Dungeon Master!" Otogi now had two life points. 

"To damage my life points in D.D.M.! Yugi, this has been quite exciting! But you won't touch my life points again! My turn!" She drew three dice and rolled them. "Yes! Three Summon Crests! On a Triple Crest, the level of summoned creatures goes up by one! Here I go! Dimension Dice! I summon Orgoth the Relentless!" It had 500 attack points and 450 defense points. "In addition, by spending three Magic Crests, I can equip Orgoth will the Diamond Blade!" Otogi did just that, increasing Orgoth's attack points to a devastating 2000. Strike Ninja didn't stand a chance. Except… 

"I got him!" said Otogi. 

"Are you sure?" asked Yugi. "Take a good look at the dungeon, Otogi!" 

_What?_ thought Otogi. _She didn't – ! Strike Ninja camouflaged itself!_

"The moment Orgoth attacked," explained Yugi, "I paid three Magic Crests from my Crest Pool to activate Strike Ninja's special power! Invisibility!" 

_What…?!_ thought Otogi. _That move brought her back from the brink of death! It took quick insight and good judgement to survive that one… heh… Yugi… is this the cleverness that solved the Millennium Puzzle?_

"Otogi…" said Yugi. "You should know… even if you steal the Millennium Puzzle from me, our bond can't be broken! I'm not alone! It's not just me that's fighting you. I'm still connected to the other me that dwells in the Millennium Puzzle! I can still hear her voice… and that's why I won't lose! It's my turn! Strike Ninja, attack!" 

_No…_ thought Otogi. _My Dungeon Master only has one life left!_

_One more attack and I win!_ thought Yugi. 

_I won't let you do it!_ thought Otogi. _No way, Yugi!_

_Otogi…_ thought Yugi. _If only we could just play games together, without thinking of things like revenge or who gets the Millennium Puzzle…_

_Dammit, Ryuko, you little –_ thought Mr. Otogi. _How can you be having so much trouble against that little brat?! I can't watch anymore!_ He left the room he had been spying from, and stormed into the room they were playing in. "Ryuko!" he yelled. "I forbid you to lose to Sugako's granddaughter!" 

"You're that clown from before!" said Yugi. 

"Dad!" said Otogi. 

"It's been twenty years since I played a game with Sugako over this Millennium Puzzle…" said Mr. Otogi. "And now the game has come full circle! Into the next generation!" 

"Why you – !" said Yugi. "Give the Millennium Puzzle back!" 

"Hmph!" said Mr. Otogi. "Listen well, kid! You're not the one who will inherit the power of the Millennium Puzzle! Only my Ryuko is worthy!" 

Otogi glared at her father. Quite frankly, she had had enough of her father's shit. Especially when Yugi had proven quite skilled. 

"The Millennium Puzzle is a part of me!" said Yugi. "It's my other heart – my other soul! Give it back!" 

"In your dreams!" said Mr. Otogi. 

"Dad! This is our fight!" said Otogi. "Please don't get in the way!" 

"Wh-what are you saying, Ryuko…?" asked Mr. Otogi. "Don't you know… I'm doing this because I love you…" _Just watch, Ryuko,_ he thought. _I'll help you… I'll do something that will shatter her will to fight…_ He tried to tear the Puzzle apart. 

_He's not gonna… he can't!_ thought Yugi. 

"Yugi…" said Mr. Otogi. "Didn't you say… even if you aren't carrying the Millennium Puzzle, your bond to it can't be broken? In that case – ! I'll crush this thing!" _Gghh… it won't budge…_ "Take this!" _My hatred for Sugako!_ "I did it!" _A part of the Puzzle has come undone!_ Indeed, the front piece, with the wdjat on it, came off. 

"Please stop!" said Yugi, eyes wide. 

Otogi stared in horror, as her father further broke the puzzle up. 

Mr. Otogi laughed. "Don't worry – my daughter will put it back together! As the _new_ successor of the legend!" 

Yugi made a sound, a cry somewhere between a scream and a sob, as tears formed in her eyes. No. No! _No!_

Meanwhile, outside, the other Bakura held up the Millennium Ring. Its central spike was pointing towards the building, where Yugi was last seen. 

_So… something happened to the Millennium Puzzle…_ she thought. _I guess I'll have to do the queen's dirty work again… I need Yugi Mutou to wield the Puzzle… after all, she is the only host the Puzzle has chosen in three thousand years… as long as I still have some use for her, anyone who harms her will have to answer to me!_ She entered the Black Clown. 

Across the street, a dog was barking. Its owner, Honda, petted him to calm him down. She looked in the direction her dog was barking in. 

"Am I seeing things, or was that Bakura?" Honda asked to herself. Her dog continued barking. "Hey! Be quiet, Blankey!" It was a stupid name Honda came up with when she was young, but she stuck to it, out of nostalgia and the fact that Blankey probably wouldn't respond to any other name by this point. She figured Yugi and Bakura were off buying that game they said they would. "Jounouchi should be at Yugi's place…" she murmured to herself. "Guess I'll stop by for a bit. Hey, Blankey… don't bite Jounouchi's butt again, okay?" Dogs never did seem to like her, virtual or real. 

In the shop, the other Bakura ran into a pair of police officers. 

"Uh, excuse me, ma'am," said one of them. 

"We're closed for the day," said the other. "Please come back tomorrow, okay?" 

The other Bakura simply stood there, silent. 

"Hey! I know you can hear us!" said the first officer. 

The other Bakura chuckled. The second officer's eyes widened. 

"Out of my way, you human scum!" said the other Bakura. 

Back in the basement, Yugi was still crying. 

"You see that?" asked Mr. Otogi. "It's in pieces! Now the legend of the Millennium Puzzle is back to where it began!" 

Yugi sniffed miserably. 

"But don't worry!" said Mr. Otogi. "My daughter Ryuko will solve the puzzle! She'll become the new Queen of Games!" 

Yugi knelt down on the floor, picking up some of the fallen pieces. _The other me…_ she thought, tearing up. _It took me years to solve this puzzle… and now that I've met you…_ "How could you…" she murmured. Much louder, she said, "How could you break my other heart?!" 

Mr. Otogi chuckled. "Get this, Yugi!" he said. "If you want the Puzzle back, you'll have to beat Ryuko! Too bad for you that without the puzzle you won't have a chance!" 

Otogi, too, knelt down, picking up some pieces. "Yugi…" she said, voice sorrowful. "I'm sorry… I know it was important to you…" 

_Otogi…_ thought Yugi. She was doing this… for her? 

Otogi looked behind herself, at her father. She snatched the chain, along with what of the puzzle hadn't fallen apart, from him. "Don't touch the Puzzle anymore, Dad!" she said. 

"W-what are you saying, Ryuko?" asked Mr. Otogi. 

"I'm sorry, Dad…" she said. "But this is _my_ battle…" She turned to Yugi. "Sit down, Yugi!" she said. "Let's finish the game!" 

Yugi wiped the tears from her eyes, a determined look on her face. 

"But don't forget!" said Otogi. "Whoever wins this fight gets the Millennium Puzzle! That rule won't change!" 

The two sat down at the table. Yugi took one last look at the remains of the Millennium Puzzle. _Hang in there, other me!_ she thought. _I promise to put the Puzzle back together again! And I promise that I_ will _get you back!_

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"Let's go!" said Otogi. 

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_If I can just hit her one more time, I win!_ thought Yugi. 

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"I won't let you win!" said Otogi, rolling her three dice. "My turn! Orgoth attacks!" 

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_Sh-she got Strike Ninja!_ thought Yugi. _My only creature in enemy territory!_ Now she only had three left. Otogi had four, including the powered-up Orgoth. 

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"It's not as bad as it looks, Yugi," said Otogi. "I can't summon any more creatures to the board! All the dice but the three in my hand have been Dimensioned already! C'mon! It's your turn! Roll the dice!" 

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_I don't have any way to attack right now…_ thought Yugi. _I'd better concentrate on defense…_ She drew three dice and rolled them. "I move Duker of Twin Swords towards my Dungeon Master!" she said. 

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"Now it's my turn!" said Otogi. _So, she's trying to gather her forces before I can move into her territory… but she's not fast enough!_ "Orgoth advances!" she said. 

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_Orgoth's headed straight for the Warp Crest!_ thought Yugi. 

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"I'm charging in! I'm taking the warp route right onto your home turf!" With that, Orgoth warped straight to Yugi's side of the board. 

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Yugi gulped. _If I don't do something, Orgoth will rampage through my side of the board!_ she thought. "My turn!" she said out loud, rolling the three dice. "My army stands guard around my Dungeon Master!" 

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"A wall of creatures won't stop Orgoth!" said Otogi. "Now it's my turn! Orgoth attacks!" Orgoth easily destroyed Gorogon. _Yugi has two creatures left!_ she thought. 

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_Oh no…_ thought Yugi. "It's my turn!" she said. She rolled the dice. No matches. "Little Wizard! Magic Lightning Rod!" 

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"I use Defense Crests to increase Orgoth's defense!" said Otogi. The lightning bounced harmlessly off Orgoth. "And on my turn, I get to strike back! The Little Wizard dies!" 

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With that, Yugi only had Duker of Twin Swords left. 

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"Give up, Yugi," said Otogi. "It's impossible to fight back with just one creature." 

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Yugi was silent. 

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"How do you like that, Yugi?" asked Mr. Otogi. " _Now_ do you realize you're no match for Ryuko?" 

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"Aggh… no…!" _Am I really going to lose?_ wondered Yugi. 

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"Yugi, the Millennium Puzzle is mine!" said Otogi. 

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Suddenly, the three heard a voice laughing. They turned towards the door. 

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"Too bad, Otogi," said the other Bakura. "You can't even handle the Puzzle." 

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Otogi and her father stared in shock. "Who are you?" asked Mr. Otogi. 

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"For the last three thousand years, only one person has been able to wield the Millennium Puzzle," said the other Bakura, ignoring Mr. Otogi's question. "And that person is Yugi!" 

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"B-Bakura…?!" asked Yugi. _Something_ was up… 

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"Bakura!" said Otogi, gritting her teeth. 

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"I can't _believe_ someone of your level would actually think they could use the Puzzle…" said the other Bakura. "If I were you I wouldn't try it. If you do, you'll die horribly." 

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_That's not Bakura talking!_ thought Yugi. _Th-that's the spirit of the Millennium Ring!_ "B-Bakura… are you…?" 

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"Don't worry," said the other Bakura. "I'm not the same as before. I've turned over a new leaf, you know? Right now, I'm your friend!" 

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Yugi stared in disbelief, but decided to just go with it for now. She could use all the help she could get… 

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The other Bakura gazed down at the board. "Hmm… I see…" she said. "The odds are a bit against you. But that doesn't mean you've lost yet…" She looked up at Otogi. "Otogi, listen well. In the next few turns, Yugi will turn the tables on you… take a good look at the power of the Millennium Puzzle's chosen host! Do you hear me? It's _Yugi_ who'll win this game!" 

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Yugi looked up at the other Bakura. For her to "change" so suddenly, without apparent cause… 

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The other Bakura chuckled. "Are you still suspicious?" she asked. "Remember what Pegasus said at Duelist Kingdom… each of the seven Millennium Items are pieces of the puzzle of the Pharaoh's memories. We are partners sharing a greater consciousness! We cannot exist without one another! What's there to fear about that?" 

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_Bakura… are you telling the truth?_ wondered Yugi. _Well, right now, whether or not Bakura is lying, the important thing is winning this game! If my other self were here, she'd feel the same way! Let's see here… I have one creature left, and I don't have anything that can stop that super-powerful monster of hers… Bakura said I could turn the tables, but how?_

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"You're _both_ crazy!" said Otogi. "Not even Yugi can turn this situation around! Well, Bakura, I guess you usually hide your claws, so to speak. I didn't know you were so familiar with the Millennium Items. But let me tell you one thing. The next bearer of the Puzzle is me!" 

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The other Bakura merely chuckled. "Your weak soul will be burnt to ashes the moment you wear the Puzzle! No, even before that, I doubt you can even put it back together!" 

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"Hmph!" said Otogi. "Brag all you like! C'mon, Yugi! It's your turn! Roll the dice!" 

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Yugi drew her dice. _All I can do is fight until the end!_

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_Yugi!_ thought the other Bakura. _Focus your mind on the dice!_

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Yugi rolled the dice. Two Attack Crests and a Magic Crest. _How can I beat Orgoth with Duker of Twin Swords? Hmm… Duker's special attack, Renzokugiri, gets stronger for every Attack Crest I spend… right now, my Crest pool has a lot of Attack Crests from previous rolls… if I spend all my attack crests, Duker of Twin Swords will have 2160 attack points, just for one turn! It'll actually be stronger than Orgoth! All right! This will be my final gamble!_ "Go, Duker of Twin Swords! I spend all my Attack Crests to multiply its attack by six! Slay Orgoth the Relentless!" 

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_Heh heh… I knew you'd do that!_ thought Otogi. "Creature, advance!" 

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_What?!_ thought Yugi. _One of her monsters jumped in the way…!_

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Otogi laughed. "My low-level monster gives its life to save my ultimate fighter! You wasted six Attack Crests, Yugi!" 

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_No… no!_

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"Now it's my turn!" said Otogi. "Kill him, Orgoth! Kill Duker of Twin Swords!" 

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_M-my creatures are wiped out!_ thought Yugi. 

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_I won! I beat Yugi!_ thought Otogi. 

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_…I lose…_ thought Yugi. 

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"Yugi, your Dungeon Master still has two life points left," said Otogi. "Play the game out to the end!" 

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Yugi rolled the dice. No matches, but she did get a Movement Crest and a Magic Crest. _I have no way to attack…_ she thought. _All I can do is move my Dungeon Master out of the way…_ She did exactly that. 

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Otogi laughed. "Run wherever you like!" she said. "You can't escape from Orgoth the Relentless! Attack Yugi's Dungeon Master!" 

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_Aggh…_ thought Yugi. _It's over on the next turn…_

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Mr. Otogi laughed. "You're dead, Yugi! Good job, Ryuko! That's my girl!" She picked up the chain of the Millennium Puzzle. "Now! This Puzzle is yours! Ryuko! Solve it in front of my eyes!" 

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_Heh heh… I beat the mighty Yugi!_ thought Otogi. _The Millennium Puzzle chose me as its new master! I'll solve this thing right now! When it's completed, the power of the Millennium Puzzle will be mine!_

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The other Bakura chuckled. "Haven't we been through this before? You can't solve the Millennium Puzzle." Foolish mortals. 

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"Heh. Say whatever you want," said Otogi. "I've solved harder puzzles than this!" 

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"Then I'll just say this," said the other Bakura. "It is _Yugi_ who will win this game!" 

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_What?!_ thought Otogi. Surely Bakura was bluffing, right? 

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Meanwhile, by the Kame Game Shop… 

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"What? Bakura went to the Black Clown?!" asked Jounouchi. 

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"Yeah!" said Honda. "I just saw her a minute ago!" 

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"Come to think of it, I was wondering where Bakura was," said Ansei. 

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"By the way, where's Yugi?" asked Honda. "I thought she'd be with you guys." 

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"As a matter of fact, we don't know, either!" said Sugako. 

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"We were starting to get worried…" said Ansei. 

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"You mean – ?!" 

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"Come to think of it, Yugi disappeared at that dumb store too," said Jounouchi. 

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"The Black Clown game store, eh…?" asked Sugako. _Could it be that they're not what they seem?_ she wondered. "All right then! Let's go back to the store!" 

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"Oh yeah…" said Honda. "There's one other thing I think I should tell you. When I saw Bakura, she was wearing the Millennium Ring again." 

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"What the hell?! No way!" said Jounouchi. 

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"Is that true, Honda?!" asked Ansei. 

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"I'm positive that I saw the other Bakura back at Duelist Kingdom, but I didn't say anything because she hadn't been acting weird since then…" said Honda. 

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"Crap," said Jounouchi. "Something really bad is going on! Let's hurry!" 

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With that, the four rushed to the Black Clown. 

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Back in the basement, Yugi struggled to find a way to turn the game around. Only one life point, and no creatures. 

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Otogi was also struggling with the Millennium Puzzle. _Grr… what is going on? The pieces of this puzzle just won't connect…_

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The other Bakura chuckled. "I feel like a broken record… Otogi, you can't solve the Puzzle! Only Yugi can do it!" 

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The word "Puzzle" suddenly gave Yugi an idea. She saw a gap in the dungeon, perfect for a die to be Dimensioned into. _Maybe…!_ She rolled the dice. _C'mon! Please be stars!_ That was precisely what she got. "Yes! I got two Summon Crests!" 

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"Yugi, what's the point of rolling Summon Crests _now?_ " asked Otogi. "You only have one tiny, complicated space left on your side of the board! You don't have enough room to summon another monster!" Sheesh. What could Yugi possibly hope to accomplish? 

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A very important thing, actually. 

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_I'll have to gamble on this die!_ Yugi thought. "Dimension Dice!" 

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_It's useless!_ thought Otogi. _No die can Dimension into that narrow space!_

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_The dungeon squares are like a puzzle,_ thought Yugi, _and if this die won't solve it, I lose!_

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The die unfolded on the board into a stair shape. "Yes! It fit into the space!" exclaimed Yugi. 

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_No way…!_ thought Otogi. _She summoned a creature!_

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"I'll say it one last time…" said the other Bakura. "Only Yugi can solve the Puzzle." 

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W-wait a second! What Yugi had summoned was the Armor Wizard Pazoo. It had a pathetic 0 attack points. 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, if Hercules had a thirteenth labor, editing this chapter would be it. This chapter was tougher than usual to edit. It was long, and I messed up an italic tag early on, messing up the rest of the chapter. Normally it would simply be a matter of fixing the mistake, but this site, when you mess up italics like I did, _adds them to all paragraphs afterward._ I tried the Rich Text mode rather than HTML. Same thing. I tried deleting the old draft and starting anew. _Same thing!_ I don't know what happened, but it made it frustrating, especially since this chapter is twice as long as average. All those freaking span tags...


	71. The Zero-Attack Victory

Outside of the shop, Tsukiko and Hikari saw a group of people rushing towards the Black Clown. Tsukiko ran up to the group, followed by Hikari.

"Hey, the shop is closed, people," said Tsukiko. "Why are you rushing in _now?_ "

"A friend of ours went missing in the shop!" said Jounouchi.

"Can we help?" asked Hikari.

"Yeah," said Jounouchi. "What are your names?"

"I'm Tsukiko Saotome."

"Hikari Takahashi."

"What does your friend look like?" asked Tsukiko.

"You can't miss her," said Jounouchi. "She's got super-spiky black hair with red tips and blond bangs."

"Isn't that Yugi Mutou? The winner of the Duelist Kingdom tournament?" asked Hikari.

"Sounds like her," said Tsukiko. "Well, let's go!"

With that, the six went in.

Unfortunately, something was wrong.

"Huh…? Where is everybody?" asked Jounouchi. "It's too early to close the store… Honda, you said Bakura went in here too, right?"

"The store's empty!" said Ansei. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"You sure she's in here…?" asked Tsukiko.

Suddenly, Honda noticed something. "Look! Somebody's on the ground!" she said.

"What the – ?! What the heck's going on?" asked Jounouchi. There were two people on the ground, a pair of police officers. "We gotta find Yugi!"

"Yikes. We're dealing with some dangerous people, here," said Hikari.

Back in the basement, Otogi laughed. "Sorry to rain on your parade, Yugi, but how do you plan to fight me with no weapons and zero attack? That creature is no match for the overwhelming might of Orgoth the Relentless!"

_She's right,_ thought Yugi. _I can't beat her with zero attack points… isn't there anything I can do…? What would the other me do at a time like this…?_ She squeezed her eyes shut. _I need to hear you… please tell me…_

"Yugi! Don't be a baby!" said the other Bakura. "Stand up! This is another test for you. This is the queen's final challenge to see if you are the true successor of the Millennium Puzzle!"

Yugi opened her eyes and looked at the other Bakura in surprise. _The queen…?_ Out loud, she asked, "What do you mean, 'the aueen?'"

"Listen to me, Yugi," said the other Bakura. "Only one person on Earth can solve the Millennium Puzzle. Only one person is chosen for the duty of awakening the Queen's memories. That person is _you._ I came here to make sure of that!"

_Bakura…_ thought Yugi.

Mr. Otogi chuckled. "Bakura, was it?" he asked. "It's useless to kibitz! The Millennium Puzzle goes to whoever wins this game!"

"Rot and die, old man," muttered the other Bakura.

"Yugi! Are you done with your turn yet? It's my turn to go!" said Otogi.

Yugi was silent. _Hold on, other me,_ she thought. _They broke your soul, but I'll put it back together… but first, I have to win this game by myself! I'll fight to the end to get you back! Armor Wizard Pazoo… it may not have any attack points, but I_ know _it has some secret power! I'll gamble on that power! My next move will decide the game!_

_You can't turn the tables, Yugi!_ thought Otogi. _You may have summoned Pazoo, but you don't know how to use it!_ "Now it's my turn!" she said. She chuckled. "When I see your Dungeon Master with its back to my monster, do you know what I think? I think it's just like _you,_ Yugi! This is the last turn! Get ready!" She rolled her dice. "Here I go! Orgoth, attack!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"I pay three Magic Crests to activate Pazoo's secret power!" said Yugi. The armored pieces of Pazoo separated, moving themselves as Orgoth attacked Yugi's Dungeon Master.

Otogi laughed. "Orgoth chopped you in half!" Except… Yugi's Dungeon Master was intact? _What the – ?!_

"Pazoo turned itself into a shield!" said Yugi. "He protected my Dungeon Master! Otogi, didn't you say before that my Dungeon Master was running away? It won't turn and run anymore! On my next turn, my Dungeon Master will fight!"

"Heh… but Pazoo has no attack points," Otogi pointed out. "How are you going to fight like that?"

"You're right, its attack points are zero," said Yugi. "But the _reason_ why its attack points are zero, and why it's not armed, is because Pazoo itself _is_ a weapon! It turns itself into equipment for the Dungeon Master!"

"You're right," said Otogi, "but to keep the shield active, you have to pay the crest cost each turn! And to change Pazoo into a weapon, you need one Magic Crest and two Attack Crests! All you have is one!"

_I've only got one chance!_ thought Yugi. "It's my turn!" She rolled the dice, desperately hoping she rolled two Attack Crests.

"Yes!" said Yugi. "Two Attack Crests! Pazoo's second power! Transform into sword mode!" Now her Dungeon Master had 2500 attack points. "Go, Dungeon Master! Attack Orgoth the Relentless! Pazoo Blade Attack!"

With that, Otogi's key monster was gone.

Mr. Otogi screamed in frustration. _This can't be happening!_ he thought. _Ryuko lost?!_

_You're the chosen one, Yugi,_ thought the other Bakura, mentally chuckling.

_Why… why did I lose?_ wondered Otogi. _Is Yugi really the successor of the Puzzle?_

"Otogi…" said Yugi. "I didn't win because I wanted to have the power of the Puzzle…"

"Then why – ?! What were you fighting for?" asked Otogi.

"I just wanted to see the other me. That's what I wished for," said Yugi.

Otogi was silent. _I lost… I_ made _the game, but I still couldn't do it… I couldn't break the bond between her and the Puzzle… I was utterly defeated…_

Mr. Otogi growled.

"Give me back the Puzzle!" said Yugi. "You promised!"

"Uh… sure…" said Otogi. She was many things, but a liar was not one of them.

"Stay there," the other Bakura told Yugi. "I'll get it for you. You must be tired from the game." She walked over to the other side of the table and picked up the Puzzle. She looked directly at Otogi. "Now you know that Yugi is the true owner of the Puzzle. If someone with a weak heart like _you_ tried to solve the Puzzle, you'd just end up trapped in a labyrinth of darkness. You got away with your life _this_ time, Otogi…"

"Bakura… who _are_ you…?" wondered Otogi.

The other Bakura walked over to Yugi, handing her back the Puzzle. Most of it, anyway. "Here!" she said. "It's up to you to put it back together."

_Bakura is taken over by her other personality,_ thought Yugi. _But I wouldn't have won if it weren't for her support… I want to believe she's my friend… at least, for now…_ "It takes a long time to solve this puzzle!" said Yugi. "It took me eight years to do it the first time. I just want to go home and be alone with the Puzzle right away…" _Other me… I don't know when I'll see you again… but I'll complete the Puzzle again, even if it takes me the rest of my life!_

The other Bakura looked down at Yugi. She held a single piece of the Puzzle in her hand, away from everyone's sight. _H-heh heh… and now…! This is the_ real _reason I came to save you… Yugi, you don't know the true power hidden in the Millennium Puzzle… no… not even your other self does… hidden in the Millennium Puzzle are the memories of the Pharaoh from three thousand years ago… when the six remaining Items are brought together, the seal will be broken and the Pharaoh's memories will be restored. Of course, one of those keys is this Millennium Ring… on the tablet in the shrine at Kul Elna, there is a warning that reads, "The young Pharaoh and the six High Priests gave their lives to seal the evil power inside the holy door. I pray that the evil power is not resurrected along with the Pharaoh's memories." If I can find the Pharaoh's memories that dwell in the Puzzle, I can make that evil power mine! The Millennium Ring can seal a part of one's spirit into things, even into this piece of the Millennium Puzzle! All I have to do now is wait for Yugi to complete the Puzzle… a part of my spirit will become a spy, infiltrate the labyrinth of her other self's memories, and eventually find what I'm looking for inside the true room of the Pharaoh's soul._

"Oops!" she said. "Sorry… before you try to solve that, I found another piece on the floor."

"Whew!" said Yugi. "Thanks, Bakura! I couldn't have solved the Puzzle if this was missing!"

"My pleasure," said the other Bakura. _H-heh heh heh… all right, my job here is done…_

"Hmm…? Hey… where am I?" asked Bakura. "Everybody must be worried…"

"Let's go home," said Yugi.

"Yugi…" said Otogi.

Yugi looked at her, somewhat suspicious.

"I lost, but I have no regrets!" said Otogi. "Forgive me, Dad… I couldn't get revenge for you… I couldn't hate Yugi… I just couldn't…"

"I know…" said Mr. Otogi. "I was wrong, Ryuko… I shouldn't have asked you to do that."

"Dad…" said Otogi. "I couldn't play with all that weight on me… all that revenge…"

"Yugi… I'm sorry for breaking your Millennium Puzzle," said Mr. Otogi. "It must have been hard on you… let me do something to make it up to you… I want to hang your precious puzzle around your neck…" He snatched the Puzzle from Yugi's hands.

"Hey…!"

The Puzzle was around Yugi's neck, and Mr. Otogi started dragging Yugi by the chain. He chuckled, then laughed. "You fell for it, you brat!" He moved one hand up the chain and twisted it, so as to create the possibility of Yugi choking.

"Dad! What are you doing?!" asked Otogi.

"Come with me!" said Mr. Otogi. "Or I'll break your neck!"

"Yugi!" said Bakura. Had this been her other self's doing?!

"Stop it, Dad!" said Otogi. "Revenge won't solve anything!"

"Hmph!" said Mr. Otogi. "Ryuko! Now that you lost to Yugi, you are no longer my daughter! You were born just to exact my revenge! Now that you failed, you have no right to live!"

"Just stop! Please! Don't show any more of your ugly heart!"

"I don't expect anything from you anymore!" said Mr. Otogi. "I'll get revenge with my own hands!" He rotated one of the masks on the wall, revealing a secret door. He went through the door, shutting it.

"Dad!" shouted Otogi, banging on the wall. She tried to rotate the mask. "Shit! This door won't open once it's locked from the inside!"

"Is there another way in?!" asked Bakura.

"No!" said Otogi. "Dad's going to play the Devil's Board Game with Yugi on the other side of the door! I have to stop him somehow!"

Inside the room, Mr. Otogi dragged Yugi to the center. "A forbidden ritual will take place here," he said. "Stay still until the game is ready!" He forcibly removed the chain from Yugi's neck, the impact knocking Yugi down.

At the end of the room opposite the entrance was an altar, with six candles surrounding a shallow stone dish, the dish decorated with four stone snakes. On the inside, it was carved, with many circular segments, and grooves down those segments, with a monster head in the center.

"Do you know what this is?" asked Mr. Otogi, more to himself than to his half-conscious hostage. "This is a cursed ancient Egyptian game which devours its players' very lives. It's a simple game where two players roll dice to get to the goal. The scary thing is, every time you move your piece, you must bet a number of years. When the game ends, the loser ages by the number of years they bet! I lost to Sugako at this game and aged fifty years in a single night. My original plan was for Ryuko to solve the Puzzle and then curse Sugako with this game. But thanks to my shiftless daughter, that plan was ruined. I will build the Millennium Puzzle! The Puzzle is mine! No one can have it!" He drove a nail through one of the links, into the altar. "Now nobody can take it from here! I'll solve the Puzzle and gain its power… then turn you into an old woman with this game. You'll suffer just like I did, until you die!"

Yugi finally opened her eyes. She could barely process what was going on. She saw Mr. Otogi putting together the Millennium Puzzle.

"Y-you can't solve it…" said Yugi, once she could finally speak. Her voice was barely there. To talk at a normal volume felt impossible.

Mr. Otogi chuckled. "Just watch," he said. "In my hands, this is simple…"

"You'll make… the Puzzle… angry…" said Yugi.

Mr. Otogi was putting another piece in place when, all of a sudden, it seemed like the pieces were all he could see. He was falling, falling… everywhere he looked, he saw Puzzle pieces. "Wh-where am I?!" he asked, panicking. "It's a maze! The labyrinth of the Puzzle!" Pieces fell beneath him. He screamed, flailing about.

In reality, he had started flailing his arms. He had knocked many of the Puzzle pieces into the candles. The candles that were still lit. Still on fire.

"What?!" he asked, his vision having returned to normal after he had let go of the Puzzle. "F-fire!"

Yugi's eyes widened, having fully recovered from unconsciousness.

Otogi was also panicked, after feeling the door heat up. "Smoke from the inside!" she yelled.

"Oh no!" said Bakura. The two ran out of the secret room, encountering Jounouchi, Ansei, Honda, Tsukiko, and Hikari.

"Bakura!" yelled Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi! Guys!" said Bakura.

"Where's Yugi?!" asked Jounouchi.

Back in the secret room, Mr. Otogi was panicking, clothes on fire. Yugi spotted the remains of the Millennium Puzzle. She grabbed it, but found that it was stuck in place by a large nail. She tried pulling harder, to no avail. _If I don't get the Puzzle out of here, the fire will melt it into molten gold!_ she thought. She tried pulling once again.

"Please help me!" said Mr. Otogi. "I'll burn to death!"

"Mr. Otogi!" said Yugi. "Roll around on the floor to put the fire out!"

Mr. Otogi did exactly that. He then caught his breath.

"Don't worry," said Yugi. "Your clothes aren't on fire anymore! Now please, open the door! Please call for help!"

Mr. Otogi tried to open the door, in vain. "Th-the door's stuck… I can't open it…"

"What?!" asked Yugi. Suddenly, she heard a voice call her name.

"Hold on, man!" said Jounouchi. Otogi had guided her and the others to the secret door, and she was now using her shoulder as a battering ram in an attempt to knock the door down. "I'll get you outta there!"

"Jounouchi!" exclaimed Yugi.

"You ready, Honda?" asked Jounouchi.

"Yeah!"

Together, the two kicked the door down.

"Jounouchi! Honda!" said Yugi.

"Are you okay, man?" asked Jounouchi.

"Come on, get out quickly!" said Honda.

"Otogi! Get your father out of there!" said Jounouchi.

"I'm on it!" said Otogi.

"Yugi! The fire's spreading! Let's go!" said Honda.

Yugi turned and went further into the room.

"What're you doing?" asked Honda.

"C'mon, Yugi!" said Jounouchi.

"I can't…" said Yugi. "I can't leave without the Puzzle!"

Jounouchi's eyes widened.

"Yugi!" said Honda, as Yugi rushed over to the Puzzle.

Yugi gripped the chain, despite how hot it was.

"The chain won't come off…! I've got to solve the Puzzle right now!"

"How's that more important than your life?!" asked Tsukiko.

"You idiot! Are you nuts?!" asked Jounouchi. "We gotta get outta here or we'll burn to death!"

"I can't leave the other me behind!" protested Yugi. "If this place burns down, the Puzzle will be destroyed! I'll never see her again!"

"'The other me?'" asked Hikari. Was Yugi nuts?!

"Yugi!" said Jounouchi. Just then, she noticed the others enter the room.

"Please… all of you… let me stay here and solve the Puzzle… let me see the other me for one last time!"

"What do you mean, 'one last time?!'" asked Jounouchi. "Yugi! Nothing'll come out of you dying! Don't be a moron!"

"Please!" begged Yugi. "Let me solve the Puzzle! L-leave me alone!"

Jounouchi could feel tears rolling down her face.

Yugi was also crying.

"Yugi, no one can put the puzzle together that fast," said Tsukiko. "The fire is spreading. _Please_ , come with us!"

Jounouchi was briefly silent. "Everybody, get outta here!"

"Jounouchi! What are you – "

"You guys will be in danger if you stay!" said Jounouchi. "Nothing we can say will make Yugi let go of the Puzzle. Leave this to me!"

Honda was briefly silent. "Take care of her, Jounouchi!" she said. "I want to see both of you come back alive!"

"We will. Don't worry!" said Jounouchi. _Yugi, I'll stay with you on the edge of the River Styx. But I won't let you cross over! If you get too close, I'll drag you back even if I have to hit you again!_

Yugi was putting the Puzzle back together, ignoring the scorching heat of the metal. _I'm sorry, other me…_ she thought. _I let them shatter your heart… hold on… I'll solve the Puzzle again… then we'll see each other… and I can tell you how sorry I am…_ Even if they could only meet again in the next life, it would still be better than never…

_Do I have to leave the other Yugi behind to save the Yugi I know…?_ wondered Jounouchi. _But… I can't break the chain… and I can't break the bond between them either…_

Back outside, the fire department had arrived. "Please stay back!" said one of the firefighters. "It's dangerous!"

"Crap! The fire's still spreading!" said Honda. _Jounouchi, don't die! Save Yugi and yourself!_

"Yugi!" said Otogi.

"Agghh…" said Mr. Otogi.

"Do you see, Dad?" asked Otogi. "Do you see this fire consuming everything? _This_ is your 'revenge!'"

"I was… I was wrong…" said Mr. Otogi.

"Out of the way!" said a firefighter. "Please move!"

"There's a girl inside!" said Mr. Otogi. "She's on the second floor! Please save her!" If Yugi had saved _him_ of all people, he was damn well going to save Yugi however he could.

"Agh! No! The second floor is blocked by the fire!" said one of the firefighters.

Honda gaped.

Ansei was crying.

Back in the building, Yugi had almost finished the Puzzle. She just needed to put the last piece in…

_We have to get out!_ thought Jounouchi. "Yugi! Yu – " She cut herself off when she realized something.

Yugi was unconscious.

"Yugi! Wake up!" said Jounouchi. _Did she finish the Puzzle?! No matter what, we can't stay here any longer…_

She picked up Yugi and attempted to leave, but something kept her from going far. The chain. It was staked to the altar, and Yugi was clutching it like her life depended on it.

"Yugi! Let go of the Puzzle! Move your hand! Let go of the Puzzle! You'll die if you stay here! What am I supposed to do… shit…" Jounouchi attempted to remove Yugi's hand from the chain when she realized something. _That's it!_ she thought. _I can't move the table, but maybe I can pull the wedge out using this decoration on the dish as a lever! We're not gonna die!_

Back outside the building, a firefighter warned everyone to step back.

"Yugi!" yelled Honda.

Just then, Jounouchi walked out from the burning building, an unconscious Yugi in her arms.

"Jounouchi!" said Honda.

"Yugi!" said Ansei. "Jounouchi! Is Yugi okay?"

"Don't worry, she's fine," said Jounouchi. "Look… she built the Puzzle while the building was burning down around her… she held on to it the whole time. She wouldn't let go of the chain…"

"That… was the craziest effing thing I've witnessed," said Tsukiko. "Does stuff like this happen to you people regularly?"

"Not _regularly_ regularly but more often than the average person," said Ansei.

"Oh, boy…" said Hikari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! I think from now on I'm using the Rich Text editor rather than HTML. It is _way_ easier, especially with my italics-heavy writing style.
> 
> There's a semi-important reason Tsukiko's surname is Saotome… a reason that should become more obvious in the Abridged Series. Okay, not really important, but she _will_ show up in a later fic for a quick cameo.
> 
> As for Hikari's last name, I gave her the same surname as the author of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, Kazuki Takahashi. It's also a fairly common Japanese surname.
> 
> Originally, these two were going to simply be [recurring background characters](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RecurringExtra) who snarked at something once an arc. But I thought there could be some potential for interesting character interaction if they [became main characters.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AscendedExtra) This chapter felt like a pretty natural place for them to finally interact with the main characters, since in the very first drafts they simply wondered why they were rushing into a closed shop.
> 
> Their whole character concept from the start was "How would regular people react to the things that happen in the series?" As such, they ended up being [Logical Latecomers](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LogicalLatecomer) who [point out a lot of the improbable stuff.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MetaGuy) This also helps the fic, I think, by making it more distinct from canon, because sometimes I feel this is less a fanfic and more "Yu-Gi-Oh! with name and pronoun changes and some filler arcs from the anime." And sometimes not even names are changed.


	72. Ancient Tablet

"All right, on this turn I'll sacrifice two monsters and summon the Dark Magician!" said Yugi.

"What?!" said Jounouchi.

"Attack!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Aww man!" said Jounouchi. "Kung Fu Ultimator died and I lost all my life!"

"Yes! I beat Jounouchi again!" exclaimed Yugi, smiling brightly.

"How many times does this make, Jounouchi?" asked Bakura. Tsukiko chuckled, cheeks faintly pink.

"Argg!" said Jounouchi. "Why is my luck so bad?! Why can't I draw the right cards?!"

"It's not the luck of the draw, Jounouchi," said Ansei. "It's a difference in skill!"

"What're you trying to say, Ansei?!" asked Jounouchi. She growled.

"Good skill can turn a bad hand into something workable," said Tsukiko. "It also helps to put generally-useful cards in your deck rather than situational ones."

Jounouchi turned back to Yugi. "All right, Yugi! One more time!"

"You're on!" said Yugi.

"Hey, c'mon! That's enough, Jounouchi!" said Ansei. "Yugi's in the hospital for a reason! She's supposed to be taking it easy!"

"No, I'm fine! Honest!" said Yugi. It had been a few days since the Black Clown had been set on fire. Yugi had to be hospitalized. Thankfully, she was pretty much recovered at this point, enough to play Duel Monsters at any rate. She was still in her hospital room, however, in case of any health complications.

"Let them play, Ansei!" said Honda. "Yugi will forget about the pain if she's playing a game!"

"Besides, it's not like a children's card game can cause a person to become severely injured," said Tsukiko.

"Sheesh…" muttered Ansei. But he was relieved that Yugi wasn't hurt too badly. He watched the two of them playing.

"Agh! I lost again!" said Jounouchi. "I'm telling you, it's bad luck!" It didn't help that Yugi had Magic Arm Shield! At least Yugi had traded with her so that Jounouchi _also_ had it…

"Speaking of luck, Jounouchi…" said Ansei. " _You're_ lucky you got out of that with only minor burns! You really _are_ thick-skinned!"

"Jounouchi, you're using the same deck you used on Pegasus' island, right?" asked Yugi.

"Yeah…" admitted Jounouchi. "I beat some pretty strong foes with this deck! I think I'm gonna keep it the same for a while!"

"You should assemble a new one soon…" said Yugi. "I have a strategy to beat it…"

"Did you put together a new deck, Yugi?" asked Jounouchi.

"Uh-huh," said Yugi. "I left my best monsters and replaced the rest of the cards! In collectible card games, you've always got to keep updating and refining your strategy! I built a new deck with the other me these past three days in the hospital! It's super strong!"

Ansei blushed slightly. "How's the other Yugi doing, anyway?" he asked.

"She's doing great!" said Yugi, beaming.

Ansei blushed a darker color. "Yugi…"

"Hm?" asked Yugi.

"That night when you built the Puzzle in the raging fire… the first time you solved the Puzzle, you told me you made a wish… what did you wish for this time?" asked Ansei.

"Ha, no way!" said Jounouchi. "I didn't know that! I wanna know what your first wish was too!"

"Wha – ?! I can't say it! It's embarrassing! Sorry… that is absolutely top secret!" _But still…_ Yugi thought, _it came true!_ "I was so desperate that night, I didn't think about making a wish or anything like that… but the whole time I was putting it together, I was thinking, 'I want to see the other me…' Now that I look back at it, maybe _that_ was my wish. But it's strange… it took me eight years to build the Puzzle the first time. This time it only took me a few minutes. It's like the Puzzle built itself…"

Ansei was silent. "So your wish came true again!" he said. "The Puzzle must have sensed that you wanted to meet the other you. If the Millennium Puzzle had a mind, I know it would want to see you, Yugi!"

"Yeah…" said Yugi, smiling down at the Puzzle. Ansei gazed fondly at Yugi. He needed to think. "I'll go buy some drinks!" he said. "What does everybody want?"

"I'll have a Coca-Cola!" said Jounouchi.

"Ansei, can you get me some green tea?" asked Bakura.

"I'd like a Monster!" said Tsukiko.

"Okay!" said Ansei. He left the room, and walked down the hallway.

_The Puzzle has a mind… I can't believe I said that!_ he thought. _The other Yugi… I thought she'd always existed within Yugi… like a split personality that the Millennium Puzzle merely brought out. But… is that just what I_ wanted _to believe? Yugi has two personalities, a front and a back, is what I thought. But was I wrong? Did the other Yugi come from inside the Millennium Puzzle? And if there's a place in Egypt where the Millennium Puzzle has to go… when that time comes, what will happen to you…?_ He didn't want to think of that possibility. Of losing the other Yugi. Would there even be a way to keep her from leaving…? If she _did_ leave, would she be able to come back, at least for visits?

Back in Yugi's hospital room, Yugi and Jounouchi were discussing Duel Monsters.

"Okay… so you're saying the key to your strategy is to use a trap card to steal your opponent's cards, right?" asked Yugi. "Well, that's your problem! You're relying on just one card! If they stop you from playing that trap card, they've got you!"

"Hmm… I see… I see…" said Jounouchi.

"Hey! Came here to visit," said Hikari. "Sorry I'm late."

"That's okay!" said Yugi, beaming. "Better late than never, right?"

"You're right!" said Hikari. "By the way, I just noticed something pretty interesting. I saw that pendant you're wearing. You know the eye on it? Well, take a look at this ad in the newspaper!" She pointed to a particularly large advertisement. "Do you see this guy's necklace? The eye looks like the one on yours!"

Yugi held the newspaper. _Th-this is…_

"Yugi! You don't think…?" asked Bakura.

_It has to be! It's a Millennium Item!_ thought Yugi. _But who is he?_ She noticed some text by the picture of the man. It read, "Isar Ishtar, Secretary General, Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities." _Isar…_ she thought.

"Looks like there's an ancient Egyptian exhibit at the Domino City Museum!" said Tsukiko. "Pretty cool, if you ask me!"

_Ancient Egypt!_ thought Yugi. _I can sense it… something big is about to happen!_

At 10:00 that night, a black limousine arrived at the Domino City Museum.

"We've arrived, ma'am," said the driver.

Kaiba stepped out of the limousine, wearing a black turtleneck and leather pants, with a purple trenchcoat.

"This late, at a museum of all places… Ms. Kaiba, what kind of business deal is this? Who is this man?"

"He's an important person in the Egyptian government," said Kaiba.

"Egypt?" asked the driver. This was bizarre, but if there was one thing all KaibaCorp employees knew, it was that while their boss had some bizarre-sounding ideas, they ultimately worked in the long run.

Kaiba walked into the museum. Waiting at the entryway was a dark-skinned man with shoulder-length black hair, wearing linen robes and a golden necklace.

"Welcome," said the man. "You must be Ms. Kaiba. It's an honor to meet you. I am aware of KaibaCorp's remarkable strides in the high-tech gaming industry. My name is Isar Ishtar. I came from Egypt to oversee the dynastic exhibit that will be held in this museum. Please come in." Kaiba entered the building, and followed him as he continued. "The Supreme Council of Antiquities is a government agency formed in 1859 to protect artifacts from grave robbers," he explained. "We observe excavations throughout Egypt, and exhibits like this one around the world."

"If you're looking for someone to find mummies, I'm sorry to disappoint you," said Kaiba. "My focus is on technology, high-performance silicon chips for electronic game design. I don't have the slightest interest in ancient stones from thousands of years ago."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to keep you here all night merely to lecture you on pharaonic culture," said Isar. "However, I understand that you play Duel Monsters. What if I told you that the game originated in ancient Egypt?"

_What?!_ thought Kaiba.

"Of course, you know Millicent J. Pegasus, the game designer who created the present form of Duel Monsters," said Isar. "But it's a little-known fact that she came up with the game after a trip to Egypt. What I'm about to show you is a carving – a palette – from the mortuary temple of a pharaoh from the 18th dynasty. Perhaps this palette will trigger some inspiration in you, as it did for Ms. Pegasus, in this room. Please, after you."

Kaiba entered the rather dark room. Isar followed.

"Behold the origin of Duel Monsters," said Isar, turning on a light.

The sight before Kaiba shocked her. It was a rather large stone tablet, with many, many engravings on it. An ankh, a monster apparently split into five separate engravings, and many, many more that Kaiba recognized as vaguely resembling Duel Monsters cards. Between these monster engravings were countless hieroglyphics.

"The ancient Egyptians, like many cultures, thought misfortunes were caused by evil spirits," explained Isar. "These spirits of evil, fear, and suffering were believed to live in people's hearts. To bring peace, the Pharaoh's magicians tamed the evil spirits. They gave them names and physical forms, trapping them in stone slabs on the walls. But within the stones, the trapped monsters slowly became more powerful. In time, a group of priests acted against the Pharaoh, and unleashed the evil power of the stone slabs, starting a conflict that shattered the kingdom." Isar walked towards another, equally large tablet. "This palette illustrates that conflict. This is what I wanted to show you."

This tablet was even more shocking for Kaiba. The central engraving showed what looked to be a woman and a person whose gender Kaiba could not tell, with a flame between them. None of the details were particularly interesting, except that the woman looked just like Yugi.

"The young queen wields the Dark Magician, and the handler of the white beast confronts her," explained Isar.

_The "white beast…?" Could it be the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?_ wondered Kaiba. It sure looked like it…

"This palette depicts the diaha – the duelist battle – as it was known in ancient times," said Isar. "But as you know, these battles still go on today."

"This can't be…!" said Kaiba. "What's Yugi doing on an ancient relic?!"

"I don't know any 'Yugi,'" said Isar. "This depicts a battle between the Pharaoh and a priestess-magician. The age of the pharaohs ended more than two thousand years ago with the Greek and Roman conquests. But before that, my home country, Egypt, was ruled by a line of dynasties for more than three thousand years. The figure here is a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. This cartouche, or nameplate, indicates that she was a pharaoh. But the name itself has been defaced. This is the only pharaoh whose name has not been found, either in her tomb or in the king-list in the temples. In other words, she has been completely erased from ancient Egyptian history."

"A pharaoh?! Stop talking nonsense!" said Kaiba. "That's _Yugi!_ She goes to my school! How could she be a pharaoh from three thousand years ago?! There's no proof it's three thousand years old! Even carbon dating doesn't work perfectly on rocks!"

"Kaiba, do not let your heart waver…" said Isar. "But if you face this palette, it should speak to you in some way…"

Kaiba looked at the tablet, sweating far more than she should in an air-conditioned building. Somehow, this seemed frightfully familiar…

"The young priestess who fights with the pharaoh… the beast she has summoned… is it not like – "

"Shut up!" said Kaiba. "Nonsense! Absolute nonsense! This is a joke! Duel Monsters was invented in the mid-nineties! There's no way it's three thousand years old!"

"Just like the famous Western magician Aleister Crowley is said to have used icons from the Book of Thoth to create his Thoth Tarot, so was Millicent J. Pegasus led by fate to create Duel Monsters cards," said Isar. "And perhaps fate still leads the souls of the queen and the priestess depicted here… even now, after three thousand years…"

"Isar, if you, a government official of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, called me here to lecture me on occult, you're wasting my time," said Kaiba.

"I know," said Isar. "In that case, allow me to move to the main subject. Kaiba, are you aware of the legendary rare cards Pegasus left behind?"

_Legendary rare cards?_ thought Kaiba. Why didn't Isar just start off talking about that?

"Take a look," said Isar, pointing above the engravings of the pharaoh and the priestess. "Do you see the three engravings carved above the heads of the queen and the priestess? They depict the three of the gods of Egypt around the Millennium Puzzle. Millicent J. Pegasus created three unique cards based on these carvings. From right to left, they are Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, also known as Osiris, and the sun god Ra! The three god-beasts are believed to represent the polarities of the universe. Obelisk, light and dark, Slifer, good and evil, and Ra, heaven and earth. It is said that the one who acquires these three cards, the supreme and victorious one, the duelist of duelists, will reign over the world of cards and be given the title Duel King."

"Where are these three cards? Who has them?" asked Kaiba.

"That's why I need you, to find out," said Isar. "Pegasus eventually repented of created these three cards. She said it was her greatest mistake. Because the cards gained great power as if the gods themselves dwelled in them. It is for a reason that these cards are forbidden. They can be used for good or evil. If used by an evil heart, they could take the opponent's life. They are the ultimate weapon of Duel Monsters. Pegasus tried to eliminate the three God Cards herself, but in the end she couldn't do it. Then she thought of putting them to eternal sleep by burying them deep in the Valley of the Kings, the place from whence their spirits came. At Pegasus' request, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities sealed the cards in three different locations in the Valley of the Kings. Someone, however, stole them."

"Who would know about the existence of cards so secret that even Pegasus feared them?" asked Kaiba.

"The Ghouls," said Isar. "You've heard of them, haven't you, Kaiba…?" asked Isar.

"The rare card hunters who operate behind the scenes all over the world? It was them?" asked Kaiba. "Stealing rare cards by stealth or by force, selling them on the black market for profit… recently, I've heard rumors that they're even making bootleg cards." _So they have the three God Cards,_ she thought. _I won't allow it!_

"Kaiba, we need your help," said Isar. "For the honor of the Egyptian government, and to carry out Pegasus' wishes, we want you to get those rare cards back. We held the museum exhibit in this town to display the palette showing the origins of the cards. I believe this palette has a power that attracts duelists."

"So you're making this town into a stage for a Duel Monsters battle royale…" said Kaiba, ignoring the nonsense about attracting duelists. "I see. The Ghouls will surely sniff out and target a large gathering of duelists. They'll want my Blue-Eyes White Dragons, too…" She chuckled. She already had an idea of how to gather all three of the cards in the finals, a way that would guarantee that no matter who ended up in the semifinals, Kaiba would end up with all three.

"One more thing," said Isar, pulling a card out from his pocket. "This is for you."

Kaiba picked up the card, and her eyes widened. Obelisk the Tormentor. Wielding a whopping 4000 attack and defense points, it also two very potent effects: it could not be affected by spell or trap cards, and by tributing two monsters, it could destroy all of the opponent's monsters. The only drawback was that it required three tributes, but it was worth it in Kaiba's eyes.

"We were able to prevent this card from being stolen," explained Isar. "To retrieve the other two, I am entrusting you with Obelisk the Tormentor."

_So this card is bait…_ thought Kaiba. She chuckled. "Are you sure you can trust me, Isar…? What if I retrieve the three rare cards but refuse to let them go…?"

"I trust you," said Isar.

"Hmph," said Kaiba. Isar was a naïve fool. He should be glad Kaiba was a woman of her word.

With that, Kaiba made her way out of the building. On her way out, she noticed that the new exhibit was in the process of being set up for public viewing. For some reason, she could not help but stare at one particular mummy. The inscription described the corpse as that of a female pharaoh, one that reigned after the Nameless Pharaoh, as they were now calling her. She couldn't help but feel unsettled. Ridiculous. Ridiculous of her, Setomi Kaiba, to be unsettled by a single mummy. Nothing could possibly be different about this one! Yet, she seemed to recognize her own face in it… bunch of nonsense. Isar's words were probably getting to her head.

She turned to leave when she saw the strangest sight. A young man, delicately handsome, was looking at the mummy, too. He had long white hair, and was dressed in a knee-length, cream-colored robe. He turned to Kaiba, and smiled. She looked at this apparition in surprise. When she blinked, he was gone. She felt forlorn. Another bunch of nonsense. She really should get some sleep tonight…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deliberately made Priestess Set look androgynous. It was essentially a reuse of a scrapped idea. I had two ideas in mind for fem!Kaiba's design, an androgynous one with even shorter hair than canon!Kaiba (because I am not a fan of how the back part of his haircut looks), and one with a much more obviously feminine build and long hair. In the end, I compromised between the two, with the final version having shoulder-length hair still different from the canon style, and the more feminine build.
> 
> As for Kaiba's hallucination, I wanted to foreshadow male!Kisara's existence more. I kept male!Kisara's hair the same length as in canon because I doubt Kisara, male, female, or otherwise, would have access to anything that could cut hair. I'm also keeping his name the same, as it is unisex. I also have an explanation for how Kisara, an Egyptian person, can have a Japanese name, but that's for later.
> 
> It's also a headcanon I have that the ancient Egypt exhibit featured in the beginning of the Battle City arc features not only the tablet discussed in this chapter, but also Priest Set's mummy.
> 
> Speaking of which, I decided to stick with Priestess Set being called "Set". I normally call Kaiba's past incarnation Priest Set already, because "Seto" does not make sense as an Egyptian name, while "Set" does. "Setomi" makes even less sense as an ancient Egyptian person's name, because while you can argue "Seto" being an overly-literal transliteration of the Japanese pronunciation of "Set," and "Seth" as another name for his namesake (which is why it's another fanon name for him), the name "Setomi" has no such excuses.
> 
> I also wanted to preserve the mythological theme naming Set has with Atem. "Atem" is derived from the name of the god Atem-Ra, the ancient Egyptian sun god, while Set was, depending on the myth, either an enemy or a morally-ambiguous ally of Atem-Ra. Sound like anyone we know? It even has the "depending on the myth" aspect, if you consider the manga and its adaptations different "myths!" The Toei anime has the most clear-cut "Kaiba as Atem's enemy" interpretation, while Dark Side of Dimensions has the most clear-cut "Kaiba as Atem's ally" interpretation, with the manga leaning more towards the former and the second anime leaning more towards the latter, if by sheer virtue of Kaiba getting more screentime via filler and skipping Death-T. If we consider the English dub as yet another "myth," it would fall squarely in the middle, with Kaiba being more of a jerk than in the Japanese version, while still doing the same actions and getting the same amount of screentime.
> 
> On a minor note, before I made Tsukiko and Hikari main characters in later drafts of Battle City, this chapter would have featured their sole interaction with the main characters. Tsukiko would have been in the hospital presenting the newspaper to Yugi, in place of the nameless character who did the same thing in the manga.
> 
> Also, in my early drafts of this chapter, male!Isis' name was Ishin. But then after I realized it would be more logical to call the canon character Isis rather than Ishizu (since she's Egyptian), I went for Isar as a name with a fitting meaning and Arabic rather than Japanese. I know that "Isar Ishtar" borders on [Repetitive Name](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RepetitiveName), but it doesn't bother me.


	73. Someday Together We'll Shine

Yugi was up on the roof of Domino City Hospital the next day, looking out into the horizon.

"I'll be out of here before noon!" said Yugi. To outsiders, it appeared that she was talking to herself, but in reality she was talking to her other self. "First I'll stop by school for a bit. Then, this afternoon, I promised to hang out with Jounouchi!" _Other me, thank you,_ she said in her head. She kept some parts of the conversation in her head, namely the parts that couldn't be passed off as normal "person talking to themselves" sentences. _Huh?_ Her other self seemed rather morose at the moment.

_We have good friends,_ said the other Yugi.

_Say, other me,_ said Yugi. _Bakura's other self said something like, "the one who solves the Millennium Puzzle will have the duty of awakening the Queen's memories!" Are you… a queen?_ It was an odd question, but she had to know.

_…I don't know,_ admitted the other Yugi. _I don't remember where I came from, or even my_ name… _I only know that I can exist through you, when you wear the Millennium Puzzle. In the Valley of the Kings, there's a stone tablet that can be fitted with the Millennium Puzzle and six other Millennium Items… maybe if I go there… I…_

_That's enough!_ said Yugi. _Let's not talk about this anymore! Let's get going! Let's go meet Jounouchi at her place!_

_But… partner…_ said the other Yugi. _I want to be with you forever… I don't care if I never find my memories…_

Yugi teared up at this. _Me too…_ she said. _Me too… forever… y-you can have_ my _memories…_

_And remember this, partner,_ said the other Yugi. _If you have any problems, come to me first. I want us to be friends like that. And someday, together…_

_Someday… together…?_ asked Yugi, sniffling.

_Someday together we'll shine,_ said the other Yugi.

Suddenly, she noticed something. _Look, partner!_

Yugi followed her other self's gaze.

_Our friends arrived early!_ exclaimed the other Yugi.

Meanwhile, at the Kaiba Corporation building, Kaiba was in a rather large room in the new Collectible Card Games division. She had replaced her purple coat from the previous night with a white sleeveless one. She had a feeling that was going to be her favorite for a good while.

"Main computer system activated!" said Mokuno. "All right! We're ready! We can start anytime you want!"

_At last, the final test for the next generation Duel Disk!_ thought Kaiba. Now that she did not have the eminent possible death of her sister to worry about, she'd had plenty of time to refine the Duel Disk into something usable by the general public. Now the graphics had been updated, and the design completely changed to be able to play just like playing on a normal tabletop. Furthermore, it did not have to be thrown like the old one. Instead, the chips in the cards, formerly used by the old duel arenas, were read by the new Duel Disk to project the holograms, without necessitating the throwing of the disk. These chips contained all the data the disk could possibly need, allowing for new cards to be created without necessitating software updates on the Duel Disks.

_Yugi! You are the only duelist I recognize as a rival!_ thought Kaiba. _Only you and I have true pride! When this next generation Duel Disk is perfected, a new battle will begin for us! So_ what _if that was you on an ancient Egyptian carving? It's just a relic to me!_ This _is my era! I'm only interested in the enemy in front of me! Is that who you are, Yugi? Are you the embodiment of some ancient grudge? Do you still seek the lost honor of the past? Then I will take the glory of the future!_

"The deck is set in the Duel Machine!" said one of the technicians in the room. "Raise the AI skill level to the maximum!"

"Finally, Setomi against the computer!" said Mokuno.

"But… I'm not sure if even _she_ can beat that Duel Machine," said the technician.

"There's no way my sister will lose to some computer!" said Mokuno.

"But, Miss Kaiba," said the technician, "the Duel Machine is using her own deck from the time when she was at Duelist Kingdom!"

"What?!" asked Mokuno. "Th-then it has all three of her Blue-Eyes White Dragons?!"

"Yes," said the technician. "That's what she ordered."

_So she's fighting her own ultimate deck…!_ thought Mokuno.

Down in the main dueling arena, Kaiba set her deck in her Duel Disk. She was not only testing the new Duel Disk, but also Obelisk the Tormentor. How would it fare against her own deck? "Let's go!" she said.

The technicians turned on the machine. It was a robot attached to the wall, with a camera to assess the situation and two arms, one having a Duel Disk attached to it and the other used to draw cards and hold the ones in its hand. It probably would have been more practical just to get another person, but there was only one person who dueled on Kaiba's level, and she had no idea where she was and wasn't about to try to deal with the Friendship Squad, as she had been calling them lately.

The duel began. Holograms of each duelist's hand appeared in front of them. This was merely the "beginner's mode." She intended to make the "expert mode" the standard dueling rules, including a lack of holographic cards and some alterations of existing cards.

The Duel Machine set a card in attack mode. Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Setomi! Look out!" said Mokuno.

"I'm fine!" said Kaiba. "I play a card face-down." The card in question, Invitation to a Dark Sleep, had 1500 attack points and 1800 defense points, and the effect of being able to prevent a single monster from attacking as long as the card was face-up.

"Threat assessed. My turn," said the Duel Machine. It drew a card. It paused.

_It's not attacking with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon,_ thought Kaiba. _I see! It's being cautious of my face-down card. Excellent! Even though it's an artificial intelligence, its tactics are as good as anyone I've played!_ Hopefully, Kaiba would be able to use this AI for Duel Monsters video games.

"Look!" said Mokuno. "The computer played the Lord of Dragons! As long as it's on the board, the dragons are immune to magic!" It also sported 1200 attack points and 1100 defense points.

_If it had attacked, Blue-Eyes would have been put to sleep, but it saw through it,_ thought Kaiba. "It's my turn!" she said. She drew a card. "Steel Ogre Grotto #2! Defense mode!" It had 1900 attack points and 2200 defense points.

"No way…" said Mokuno. "The computer's got Setomi on the defensive…! I knew her new deck wasn't strong enough!"

Kaiba sweated a bit.

"My turn!" said the Duel Machine. "Draw phase complete. Main phase! Activate spell card! Flute of Summoning Dragons!"

_Is the computer going to bring all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons onto the field?_ wondered Kaiba.

"Summoning all dragons from the hand," said the Duel Machine.

"Oh no!" said Mokuno.

Kaiba looked at the machine wide-eyed. Did it already have the other two Blue-Eyes White Dragons in its hand?

As it turned out, yes.

Kaiba mentally growled. _Three of them at the same time… the deadliest possible attack…_ _Yugi, when you faced down my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, you stood up to them without fear… you took the challenge with courage and won! A duelist's greatest enemy is fear itself!_

"Initiate attack phase!" said the Duel Machine. "Attacking with all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

"I activate a facedown spell card! Negate Attack!" said Kaiba. "Now it's my turn!" She drew a card. "I summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"

"Th-that monster!" said Mokuno. "That's the legendary rare card Setomi was talking about!"

"During my Battle Phase, I sacrifice two of my monsters!" said Kaiba. "Obelisk absorbs the power of their souls! Obelisk the Tormentor! Attack!" This destroyed all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"Error. Cannot compute," said the Duel Machine.

A minor bug in the system. Kaiba would fix that later. But the important thing had been testing the Duel Disks and Obelisk. _Two legendary rare cards remain,_ thought Kaiba. _No matter what enemy stands in my way, I will find those cards and make them mine! When that day comes, I will be the Queen of Games!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep! My headcanon is that in the Yugi-verse, there are Duel Monsters video games.
> 
> I'm also using the full name of such cards as "Lord of D." (Lord of Dragons), to prevent any [unintended double entrendres](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AccidentalInnuendo) from throwing around the letter D as a noun. Even if it's not meant to be short for _that,_ I'm still uncomfortable with it. Especially with regards to a certain GX character and their search for the ultimate Destiny Hero card...
> 
> I'm also correcting "The Flute of Summoning Dragon" to "The Flute of Summoning Dragon **s** ," because I dislike how grammatically off it is to have Dragon, singular, rather than Dragons, plural.


	74. Identity

_Who am I? Where did I come from? Where should I go?_ These questions had been haunting the other Yugi for some time now. It wasn't as bad during the day, but at night, when her partner was asleep, she could not distract herself from them. _Something is waiting for me in the museum… something that knows the truth about my past… but… I don't need to know the truth… things are fine the way they are… the way they are…_ But these sentiments rang hollow, despite her best attempts to convince herself otherwise.

The next day, a Sunday, Yugi was standing in front of a mirror, trying to figure out something that would look good on her. Or rather, the _other_ her. It was kind of tough. Yugi had never cared much for fashion, and as such, this was a daunting task. She ultimately went with a black tank top, leather pants two studded belts, some chunky bracelets, and, of course, the Millennium Puzzle.

_Why are you dressing up so early?_ asked the other Yugi.

Yugi chuckled. "I'm meeting with Ansei today!" she said, smiling.

_Aha! A date?_ asked the other Yugi. _Good luck, partner!_ She winked. She was so glad her partner finally got the guts to ask him out.

"Well, the thing is…" said Yugi, "it's not really _my_ date."

The other Yugi looked at her partner with raised brows.

Yugi merely chuckled and winked.

Later that day, Yugi arrived at the place. One moment, she was in the Millennium Puzzle, hoping to see how Yugi's date went, the next, she was suddenly in control.

"Hey! What are you up to?" asked the other Yugi. "I'm not… you can't… this isn't a duel!" No response. She regained her composure.

Ansei had made it there, too, wearing black jeans, a dark pink belt, and a yellow tank top with a pale pink jacket. He was blushing a bit. _What's wrong with me?_ he wondered. _I'm so nervous…_ Yugi had told Ansei that her other self wasn't feeling too great, but wouldn't tell her anything. As such, Yugi figured her other self would cheer up if she saw Ansei. Suddenly, he felt a pit in his stomach when he saw Yugi. Or rather, the _other_ Yugi.

"Yo!" said the other Yugi, trying to play it cool.

_Yugi…!_ thought Ansei, the pit in his stomach becoming stronger. "G-good morning, Yugi!" he said.

"It is!" said the other Yugi. _Why's my partner hiding…? I can't believe she's making me do this alone…_

_You can do it, Ansei!_

"So… where are we going?" asked the other Yugi.

"Well… we could get something to drink…" said Ansei.

"Then let's go to a coffee shop!" said the other Yugi.

With that, the two made their way to a coffee shop. After they had their drinks, Ansei decided to start a conversation.

"So, Yugi…" said Ansei. "Where do you want to go today? I bought some magazines with tourist stuff…" There was an awkward silence. Ansei continued to blush, while the other Yugi looked out the window, thinking.

Ansei decided to change the subject. "Hey, Yugi! I love your outfit today! Did you make that shirt?"

"Not me…" said the other Yugi. "I didn't choose this outfit… my partner… doesn't have much fashion sense…"

"It's not bad…" said Ansei. The outfit was actually really cool.

"This morning she spent a lot of time picking her clothes…" said the other Yugi. "I didn't know why… she has a tendency to hide her true feelings… even today…"

"I think she's just worried about you," said Ansei.

The other Yugi did not respond for a while. She finally chuckled. "I guess we're the same then…" she said. "Not knowing where to go…" _I don't know who I am, where I came from, or what path I should take… but that's fine… I like things the way they are…_

"Yugi, I don't know where I should go either," said Ansei. "Everybody's like that! We're all scared, but we have to keep moving forward, even if we can't see the road in front of us… holding our heads up high… believing in what lies ahead…"

The other Yugi looked at Ansei with raised brows.

"You know how I told you before that it was my dream to become a dancer?" asked Ansei. "That I would move to America after I graduate?"

"Yes…" said the other Yugi.

"Even while we sit here, that moment is coming closer every second," continued Ansei. "We've all got limited time, you know?" _And if someday, the other Yugi will go away… far away along with the Puzzle… then our time together is limited, too…_

"Don't worry, Ansei!" said the other Yugi. "I know you can make your dream a reality!"

"Thanks for saying that…" said Ansei. "I know it's not easy to chase your dreams… but I want to believe that I have a chance. Even if it's just a tiny one…" He stood up. "Let's go, Yugi!" he said. "Let's hit the town! Movies, game stores, wherever! There's plenty of places to go!"

With that, the two made their way around Domino City. They first went to a trading card shop, which was where the other Yugi seemed happiest. She bought a booster pack, which contained a card she was particularly happy to get, namely Lightforce Sword. They then went to an arcade.

"I haven't been to an arcade in ages!" said Ansei.

"There's a lot of new games I haven't seen…" said the other Yugi.

"Wow! Look at that!" exclaimed Ansei. The other Yugi looked to see what Ansei was talking about.

It was a Dance Dance Revolution machine, with two dance pads. Tsukiko stepped off, having been defeated. She walked to go meet up with Bakura again.

"Go, Johnny Steps!" said someone in the crowd.

"C'mon, c'mon! Anybody wanna challenge me?" asked Johnny.

"A dance battle game, eh…?" said the other Yugi.

"Wow, you can play against each other?" asked Ansei.

"Hey, you there!" said Johnny. "Wanna fight?"

"Ansei, don't pay any attention to him!" said the other Yugi.

"No!" said Ansei. "I can't back down from a challenge to a dance!" said Ansei. "Not even you can stop me, Yugi!" With that, he removed his jacket, handing it to the other Yugi.

"Go for it!" said Bakura.

"I'll go easy on you, to challenge myself!" said Johnny.

_What's this guy's problem?!_ thought Ansei irritably.

With that, the game began, each player dancing in perfect time with the music.

Ansei made some complex, graceful maneuvers as the song went on, even adding on some extra movements just for the fun of it.

Meanwhile, Johnny did very well at first, but later on, Ansei was continuing to dance well far past the point where most of his opponents would have messed up by now. He growled. _Who_ is _this dude?!_ he thought irritably. _Why's he so good at this?_

Johnny eventually fell behind, messing up more and more often. Eventually, he fell down from sheer exhaustion, landing on his rear end. The crowd was rather impressed with Ansei's win, the other Yugi in particular. Johnny was not quite so impressed, to say the least.

The other Yugi looked up at Ansei and smiled. Ansei smiled back, sweating a bit from all the dancing.

They then went to the Domino City pier.

"Oh man, that was fun!" said Ansei, grinning. "Even though it was just a 100-yen game, I feel great! I broke a sweat and I'm tired, but I feel like I can really _dance!_ I feel like I can do anything!"

"Do anything, eh…" said the other Yugi. She sighed. "Ansei… there's something that's been bothering me."

Ansei turned towards her. "What's up?"

The other Yugi inhaled, then exhaled. "You know how it's been mentioned that when I duel, my personality seems to change? Like I've become a different person?"

"Yeah?" said Ansei.

"I think I really _am_ a different person from the Yugi you know," said the other Yugi. "My mind… it seems to exist _in_ the Millennium Puzzle."

Ansei was startled. _So they really_ are _different…_ he thought.

"On the other side of the world, there's a place where the seven Millennium Items belong… including the Millennium Puzzle… and me. Maybe if I go there I can find out more about myself. The reason for my existence… where I came from and where I should go… but if… if I _don't_ go looking for it, then things can stay the way they are now. Just like this…"

"Are you really all right with that?" asked Ansei.

The other Yugi didn't have an answer. "I want to know more about myself…" she said. "I want to know where I should go, where I belong… but if I stay where I am, I can stay inside my partner's heart forever… because that's what she wants too…" Yugi had done so much for her. It was only right that she repay her.

_She's… she's being considerate of the other Yugi… and so will I…_ thought Ansei. "Even if you _are_ two hearts in the same body, two different people, it's your _own_ heart you'll face!" he said. "So stay honest to _your_ heart! I'm sure she'd want what would make _you_ happiest!"

The other Yugi gave him a look of surprise. The idea of doing something for herself and not her partner never occurred to her. For the longest time, as far as she was concerned, she _was_ Yugi, a manifestation of her inner strength and courage brought out by the Millennium Puzzle. But the trials with Shadi had caused her to question this a little, and then there was Duelist Kingdom, where she got to _talk_ to her. They discovered that as much as they had in common, there was so much _difference_ between them. And the separation between Yugi and the Millennium Puzzle, with Yugi saying that she couldn't call out to her because of the sheer distance between them cemented it. She _wasn't_ Yugi.

"Then… Ansei…" said the other Yugi, "there's a place I have to go. There's an ancient Egypt exhibit at Domino Museum. Perhaps if we go there…" _I might discover a clue to my past,_ she thought.

With that, they went to the Domino City Museum.

"A clue to my past is in here…" she said. "I had to come here, but a part of me resisted that. I was afraid to find out… but after seeing you today, I made up my mind! Let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I included a mini-scene from the anime here! In the manga, we didn't see Yami Yugi's reaction to finding out that _he_ was the one on the date with Anzu. I decided to include it because it was humorous.
> 
> As for Ansei's outfit, I had to get a bit creative with it. It was a bit feminine for a guy to be wearing, and I felt male!Anzu would have a more masculine fashion sense than male!Mai, if by sheer virtue of not crossdressing. But at the same time, the thigh-high socks covered more of Anzu's legs than the shorts. So I decided to have Ansei's pants be black, with the pink belt being a reference to the shorts being pink. That being said, I still kept the pink in the color scheme, because colors should not be limited to people of any one gender.
> 
> And another thing! Tsukiko being mentioned was something of an artifact from before I made her a main character! And in both the anime and the manga, the game was "Super Dancer," which was basically Dance Dance Revolution with eight directions rather than four. Probably changed for copyright reasons. So I switched the game to Dance Dance Revolution because I don't need to worry about copyright laws, with this being a fanfic not being sold! And if I did have to worry about copyright laws, there'd be bigger issues than Dance Dance Revolution.
> 
> I also extended the conversation Yami Yugi and Ansei have about Yami Yugi not being the same person as Yugi because there was an abrupt topic change, so I smoothed it out to flow more naturally. I hope. Because you don't go straight from "I had a great time playing DDR!" to "My mind exists in the Millennium Puzzle" without any kind of transition when talking in real life. Or as close to real life as you get when ancient Egyptian magic and world-saving children's card games are also thrown in the mix.


	75. Battle City, Prelude

The other Yugi and Ansei walked through the Domino City Museum. On their way to the room with the palette, they found a mummy. It was said to be that of a pharaoh who reigned after the Nameless Pharaoh. The other Yugi felt solemn looking at it. It was likely a sign, seeing as how Ansei didn't feel any strong feelings about this particular mummy.

After walking through more of the exhibit, they found the room that contained a far more definite sign of the other Yugi's true identity. It was a palette, with two rather notable engravings. At the bottom center was an engraving of a female pharaoh who bore a striking resemblance to the other Yugi, wearing the Millennium Puzzle, and a priestess, one who rose against her and ended up becoming Pharaoh after the previous one vanished, who closely resembled Kaiba. The other engraving featured what was very clearly the Millennium Puzzle. Alas, they were not going to find this pharaoh's name so easily, for it had been removed from the slab. Ansei found it rather tragic, that a name could be erased from history just like that.

_This three-thousand-year-old pharaoh… there's no doubt in my mind,_ thought the other Yugi. _This is me!_

_But how?_ wondered Ansei. _But_ why?! _If this palette is really three thousand years old, then how could_ Yugi _be on it?!_ But it was clear, at the very least, that the Millennium Puzzle was, at one point, in this pharaoh's possession, given that she was wearing it in the engraving. Ansei remembered what the other Yugi had said. That her mind and soul existed in the Millennium Puzzle.

"The soul of the lost queen of ancient Egypt, trapped in the Millennium Puzzle for thousands of years… that is who I am," said the other Yugi. She chuckled. "After all this time, it's no wonder I've forgotten everything!"

_The Yugi I've known doesn't know yet…_ thought Ansei. _She believes her "other self" will always exist in her heart… but the other Yugi wants to find her origin… she wants to go to Egypt… and then what? Will Yugi accept that…?_

_Why was my soul inside the Puzzle?_ wondered the other Yugi. _Why were my memories so important they were sealed away in the Millennium Items? And the_ other _duelist carved into the stone… there's no mistake … it's her! Kaiba! That means the scene carved in this slab predicted our present-day battle. What does this mean? The answer must lie in my lost memories!_

Suddenly, the two heard footsteps. They turned to find a dark-skinned young man in linen robes.

"We've been waiting for you, Yugi…" said the man.

"Who are you?" asked the other Yugi.

"I am Isar Ishtar," said the man. "For a thousand years, my family has protected a piece of the pharaoh's memories…"

The other Yugi then noticed a necklace around the man's neck, one with a wdjat on it. Likely a Millennium Item.

"The Millennium Necklace grants the power to see into the near future," explained Isar. "I knew that you would visit, and that a great battle would soon be waged in this city." These visions, however, _did_ have their limitations…

"A great battle?" asked the other Yugi.

"Yes," said Isar. "You came here yourself. You chose your fate, a fate of fighting. Yugi, to regain your memory, you must gather all seven Millennium Items."

"Tell me one thing first," said the other Yugi. "You have a Millennium Item. Are you my enemy?"

"Some Millennium Items have an evil intelligence in them," concurred Isar, "but my Millennium Item is no enemy of yours."

The other Yugi was silent. This was slightly suspicious, since that was also what other people with Millennium Items said. But considering that Shadi turned out not to be an enemy, she would give Ishin the benefit of the doubt, for now.

"The enemy who will soon appear before you is the one who possesses the last Millennium Item," explained Ishin. "And that battle will be a battle to regain your memory." He could only hope that she would see what she needed to do…

Later that day, the other Yugi and Ansei left the museum.

"Ansei…" said the other Yugi, "my partner doesn't know I came here today… can you keep a secret? Don't tell her about Isar, or about the stone slab…"

"Sure…" said Ansei. He hated keeping secrets from those he cared for…

"She knows what it means if I regain my memory," said the other Yugi. "But I don't think she can accept that yet…"

"You're right…" said Ansei. "But there will come a time when she will. Yugi's a tough girl."

The other Yugi took her Duel Monsters deck out of her pocket. _She and I built this deck together,_ she thought. _Half of it is the fruits of her soul! If I keep secrets from her, I am sure to lose!_ She had sensed Yugi's stress from keeping secrets back before Death-T, and the tremendous burden it placed upon her mind and soul.

Suddenly, she felt something. _Something's strange,_ she thought. _This crowd is hostile… I can feel their almost murderous intent…_

"Hey guys!" said a voice, interrupting the other Yugi's thoughts.

The two turned to see who it was.

"No way!" said Ansei. "Maiku!" Maiku had traded out the jacket from Duelist Kingdom for a lavender vest and wore fingerless gloves that went past his elbows, but was otherwise dressed much the same.

"It's been a while!" exclaimed Maiku, grinning. "How've you guys been?!"

"We're fine!" said Ansei, also grinning. "How are you? You look good!" Seeing Maiku dressed the way he was in Duelist Kingdom had inspired some of Ansei's new clothing choices.

"Ansei, is that who I think it is? Are you guys on a date?" asked Maiku, in a playful, teasing tone.

"I-it's not like that!" said Ansei, blushing.

"Don't be shy!" said Maiku. "It's not like you're not old enough!" He laughed.

"By the way, Maiku," said the other Yugi, "what are you doing here?"

"Huh?" asked Maiku. _Doesn't she know…?_ he wondered. "Yugi, didn't you get the info?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're just here by accident!"

"Info?" asked the other Yugi.

"No way! It's really just a coincidence?" asked Maiku. "Yugi, I'm sure you've felt it already…"

"Yes," said the other Yugi. "I can sense the presence of duelists."

"Yeah," said Maiku. "The people here are duelists from all over the country!"

"I knew it…" said the other Yugi.

"A few days ago, this weird invitation, or rather, a clue, was circulated in card magazines and online…" explained Maiku. "'Come to the place where the ancient duelists and their cards slumber in the stones…' Plus, a date and a time. Now, today! They're supposed to announce a huge Duel Monsters tournament! It's Japan's biggest duelist gathering ever!"

"A duelist gathering…" murmured the other Yugi. She recognized several duelists. Insector Haga, Dinosaur Ryuzaki, and Ryona Kajiki… "I see," she said. "So _that's_ why all these duelists are in town!"

Suddenly, the other Yugi saw someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look. It was Kaiba.

_Yugi!_ thought Kaiba. _I knew you'd show up…_ She felt her heart beat a little faster.

"The rumor is, she spread the information," said Maiku.

_So Kaiba is hosting the tournament!_ thought the other Yugi.

"It's just like you planned, Setomi!" said Mokuno. "There's tons of duelists from all over the country!"

"Listen carefully, duelists," said Kaiba. "In this town, the day after tomorrow, a Duel Monsters tournament will begin!"

"Yeah! It's on!" said Ryuzaki.

"There are two conditions to enter!" continued Kaiba. "First, you must have a forty-card deck with at least one rare card! And second, you must own a Duel Disk!" She held up her own Duel Disk.

"What is that, some kind of machine?" asked Hikari to no one in particular.

"All duels must be played with an ante," said Kaiba. "The loser must give the winner their rarest card. In other words, the champion will acquire the rarest cards out of everyone here! The stage is all of Domino City! In two days' time, this city will become Battle City!" Kaiba was particularly proud of this plan. No matter who made it to the finals, Kaiba would end up with the Egyptian god cards. After all, the Rare Hunters would _surely_ be here, with the cards in question. Of course, Yugi would end up in the finals. Who else but the only person worthy of being her rival?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, [Wistful Amnesia](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WistfulAmnesia) as foreshadowing!
> 
> I'm also foreshadowing my clarified explanation of how Kaiba is able to beat Isar in their duel. Like with Pegasus vs. Yami Yugi, I think this is the canon explanation, but it wasn't so well-conveyed. This time, I took inspiration from Xenoblade!
> 
> And this fic will also feature Prideshipping. Because why not? It's been fun to write in the chapters I've written so far! It's not going to be as blatant as some of the other ships I've written (case in point: Yugi's brief crush on Bakura all the way back in the Monster World arc), since both characters, I think, would be oblivious to not only each other's feelings but their _own._ And whoo boy, this is going to make the final duel even more painful, isn't it?


	76. The Rare Hunters

"Battle City, eh…?" asked a dark-skinned blond woman in a dark cloak.

"Yes, Malika," said another cloaked figure. "The tournament is being hosted by Kaiba Corporation…"

Malika chuckled. "There's nothing more convenient that all your prey gathering in one place," she said. "What fun… now, my ghouls, unleash the Rare Hunters! Our next target is Domino City!"

Meanwhile, at Domino High School, Yugi and her friends gathered on the roof.

"Y-you mean, starting tomorrow there's gonna be duelists fighting in the streets?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Yeah!" said Yugi. "A lot of players are in town!"

"You're not gonna _enter,_ are you?" asked Honda.

"'Course I am!" said Jounouchi. "Why wouldn't I?!" She turned to Yugi. "Of course you're entering too, right?"

"You bet!" said Yugi. _I want to duel Kaiba fair and square!_ she thought. _At this tournament I'll get my chance!_ "The tournament has an ante rule, so we absolutely can't lose a single match!" she explained.

"Ante? What's that?" asked Jounouchi.

"It means you have to bet cards!" said Yugi. "You can't play the game until you bet a card! And the winner gets the loser's card! Plus, the card has to be rare!"

"So, that means, if I lose, they'll take my Red-Eyes?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Are you sure you wanna risk it?" asked Honda.

"This isn't bad!" said Jounouchi. "If I win the duels, I'll get a bunch of rare cards! I'll do it!"

"Jounouchi, there's another condition to enter the tournament…" said Yugi.

"What…?" asked Jounouchi.

"You need a Duel Disk!" said Yugi. "A new augmented-reality card machine Kaiba invented!"

"A Duel Disk?! We have to use _that_ machine?!" Jounouchi remembered what the Duel Disks used by Yugi and Kaiba in Duelist Kingdom were like. She may not have used one, but from the match she had watched, they looked clunky as hell to use. And Kaiba expected _everyone_ in the tournament to use one? She had better have updated the design!

"Our store doesn't carry it, but I hear it's already on sale at card specialty stores," said Yugi. "I'm thinking of going to get one…"

"Yugi! I'll go too!" said Jounouchi. "I need one to enter the tournament, so I might as well!" Suddenly, she remembered something. "Hey, after we buy this thing, can we go back to your place? I need to get your opinion on my new deck! I put it together yesterday, but I'm still not sure about some things!" She had made it less luck-reliant, but unfortunately, it relied on Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which she had only one copy of and would always be at risk when she dueled.

"Sure!" said Yugi.

After school, Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, Tsukiko, and Hikari went to go get Duel Disks for Yugi and Jounouchi. Bakura said she had a diorama she needed to fix up, and went home. Tsukiko offered to go with her, and Bakura agreed.

"I thought it was around here somewhere…" said Yugi. "I've never been to this store so I'm kinda lost…"

"There's a card store around the next corner…" said Ansei, pointing. "Is that the one?"

"If it's around here, that must be the store!" said Yugi. "Wow! How'd you know about it, Ansei?"

"Actually, I went there with the other Yugi yesterday," explained Ansei.

"You did?" asked Yugi. "That reminds me, Ansei… thanks for yesterday! The other me is feeling a little better."

"Oh… good…!" said Ansei. "Um… did she tell you what we did?"

"Oh, only about the tournament," said Yugi.

"Oh," said Ansei. _So they didn't talk about the stone in the museum, or Isar,_ he thought.

"But you know, something's weird," said Yugi. "The other me has a policy of not playing Duel Monsters with an ante. She always says, 'I can't bet my precious cards on a wager!' or 'A real rare card isn't about how scarce it is or how much money it costs, it's different for each person.' She says it's the forty cards they chose out of thousands and thousands to build their deck, and that they're all precious to the duelist who chose them. So that's why she says she could never take cards from other people. If she wins this tournament, she'll have the opportunity to get tons of rare cards, but… I think she must have some other reason." The way her other self talked about cards, it was almost like they were her friends.

At last, the five made it to the card shop.

_Yugi will figure it out before long,_ thought Ansei. _Their hearts are too close for them to keep secrets from each other…_ He entered upon noticing that the others did.

"Hello, do you have the new Duel Disks?" asked Yugi.

"You guys must be duelists entering tomorrow's tournament!" said the clerk.

"Yup!" said Yugi.

"I have a few left," he said. "Yep, five disks left. I've been busy all day with customers like you! By the way, could you tell me your names?"

"I'm Yugi Mutou," said Yugi.

"And I'm Katsuki Jounouchi!" said Jounouchi. _Is he gonna look me up on some blacklist…? Oh, man…_

The clerk murmured Yugi's name as he typed it. "Here it is!" he said. "Wow! This is excellent!" Dark Magician would be a powerful addition…

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Yugi.

Realizing a potential slip-up, the clerk said, "Oh, I'm looking you up in the duelist database. Kaiba Corporation collected data on duelists from across the country and sent it to card and hobby stores. Stuff like your type of deck, tournament records, duelist level, and number of rare cards. Your duelist level is the highest! Eight stars!"

"Huh?!" said Yugi. "Level eight…?!"

"Here! Congratulations! I'll give you this Duel Disk for free!"

"What?!" asked Yugi. "You mean I can just take it?"

"Actually, according to the memo from Kaiba Corporation, only duelists of Level 5 or above <i>can</i> get Duel Disks. That's the rules for tomorrow's tournament!"

"Kaiba said that…?" asked Yugi. _I see… she's sorting out the contestants…_

"Wh-what's my level like?" asked Jounouchi.

"Um… Jounouchi, right…? Here it is…" He searched Jounouchi's name. "I'm sorry… you're level 2…"

"T-two?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Looks like you're ineligible. Maybe next tournament, eh…?" _Eh…?_ He noticed something. This girl's rarest card was Red-Eyes Black Dragon. A card this valuable…!

"Grr… damn Kaiba!" muttered Jounouchi. "I hate her!"

"I'm sorry, Jounouchi…" said Yugi.

The clerk altered the data. "Wait, I'm sorry!" he said. "My mistake! You're level five! You pass!"

"What?! Really?!" asked Jounouchi.

"Congratulations! I present you with a Duel Disk!"

"Yee haw! I'm in!" exclaimed Jounouchi. She laughed as she and her friends left the shop.

The clerk picked up a phone and dialed a number. "I found one for you…" he said.

That night, Yugi and Jounouchi left the Kame Game Shop.

"Thanks for the tips, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "I'm pretty confident about my deck now!"

"Let's do our best at tomorrow's tournament!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "See ya!" With that, she walked off as Yugi went back into the shop.

It was getting late. Time really did fly when playing card games. There were some interesting plays, like Yugi using Monster Reborn to summon Jounouchi's Red-Eyes…

Suddenly, she saw three cloaked figures.

"What the – who are you guys?"

"Rare Hunters," said the one closest to Jounouchi. "Jounouchi, I challenge you to a duel, right here, right now." It was the least conspicuous way to take Jounouchi's rare card, as it didn't involve physical assault, which he could be investigated for. Furthermore, the police wouldn't investigate a stolen card.

Jounouchi had heard of the Rare Hunters. Thieves who stole duelists' rare cards.

"Are you ready?" asked the Rare Hunter.

"I'll take you on!" said Jounouchi. "I'll take you down like the crooks you are!"

With that, the duel began.

"I summon Hannibal Necromancer in defense mode!" said the Rare Hunter.

"I summon Panther Warrior!" said Jounouchi. "Attack!" At 2000 attack points and 1600 defense points, it would easily destroy the other card, which had only 1400 attack points and 1800 defense points.

The Rare Hunter drew a card. "I'll play the spell card Graceful Charity!" he said. He drew three cards and discarded two. "And then I play Three-Headed Geedo in defense mode!"

Jounouchi drew Time Wizard. "Trounce it, Panther Warrior!" said Jounouchi. "Two down!" Ha! Did he only have pathetically low-powered monsters?

The Rare Hunter drew another card. "On this turn, I'll play Graceful Charity again."

_What is with this guy?_ wondered Jounouchi. _All he does is change the cards in his hand…_

The Rare Hunter chuckled. "I win," he said. "Behold Exodia!"

_Wh-what?! Exodia?! That can't be! He gathered all five cards in his hand!_

"All five of Exodia's pieces are rare cards, difficult to even find _one_ of. But my deck has _three_ of each card! We Ghouls can reproduce as many rare cards as we want…"

"You scumbags!" said Jounouchi, as she was being restrained by the other two Rare Hunters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so in the original drafts for this chapter, because the manga (or at least the Viz translation) had Malik's servants calling him "Master Malik" (Okay, so technically they called him "Master Marik," but Malik is an actual Arabic name, and Marik isn't, _and_ he's supposed to be Egyptian, not Japanese), I went for Master Malika (because Mistress Malika sounded off somehow. Even thought I went on about the grammar of Master vs Mistress all the way back in the first chapter of Death-T!). But since the Crunchyroll subtitles had everyone calling him Marik, I figured I could get away with having everyone calling Malika just that, and not bother with the Master/Mistress dilemma.
> 
> Admittedly, I had Tsukiko going with Bakura so she would be out of the way, so that Hikari could get a scene without Tsukiko stealing pagetime...
> 
> Also, I changed Jounouchi's first name. Don't worry, I went back and edited other chapters mentioning it too. Unfortunately I didn't find out until very late in the fic posting that Kazuya is also a masculine name! So, I went around looking for more gender-appropriate names. Katsuki is a gender-neutral, not feminine, name, but I think it works for fem!Jounouchi, considering that she still acts in a more traditionally-masculine way compared to the others.
> 
> Speaking of names I didn't know the traditional gendering of, I originally thought Seto was a strictly masculine name, which is why I changed Kaiba's first name! I now know that it is, in fact, gender-neutral! I'm still sticking by the changed name, though, because I like the name Setomi more. Also, it would have been even more confusing to edit that in all the chapters where her first name is brought up _in addition_ to Jounouchi's first name! Same with Ryoko Bakura (as opposed to Ryou Bakura, since Ryou is technically gender-neutral as a name).
> 
> I also originally considered exaggerating how lowly Kaiba thought of Jounouchi's skill as a duelist by having Jounouchi be a level 1 duelist in the database rather than 2 as in canon, since the Kaiba vs Jounouchi duel didn't happen in this fic, but then I realized that, as someone who would keep up with such things as the latest major tournament results, Kaiba would've found out sooner or later that Jounouchi made it to the Duelist Kingdom semifinals and won against Bandit Kate (if we consider the would-be Yugi vs Jounouchi duel as the finals, which didn't happen as per the manga and Jounouchi would have been considered as having lost since Yugi ultimately dueled Pegasus), thus obviously Jounouchi would have to be a decent duelist. Kaiba, however, having no respect for Jounouchi, wouldn't have had Jounouchi's level recorded as anywhere near high enough to go to the Battle City tournament.
> 
> I also included an explanation for why the Rare Hunters don't just beat Jounouchi up to steal her card. It may _seem_ foolish, but it's meant to be inconspicuous in terms of whether the police would bother investigating.
> 
> There's also a reason Jounouchi drew Time Wizard instead of Red-Eyes...


	77. Battle City Begins

"The light in Yugi's room was on all night!" noted Sugako. "Those two girls must've been up all night putting their decks together for today's tournament. I'll close shop today to watch Yugi duel…"

"There! I did it!" exclaimed the other Yugi, who was in control. _I can't believe we spent all night deciding whether to include that spell card!_ she said. She put their deck in the deck box on their belt.

_Whoa! It's morning already!_ said Yugi.

"Partner…" said the other Yugi.

_Huh…?_ asked Yugi.

"For me, Battle City isn't just any tournament," she said. "This time, I'm fighting to find myself!"

_What does she mean…?_ wondered Yugi.

"I won't be able to win that fight without your help," continued the other Yugi. "No matter what happens, in every duel, I'll have faith in this deck that we put together! Keep my words in your heart."

_Yup,_ said Yugi. _The other me would never duel just to get a rare card,_ she thought. _I know that better than anybody… I won't ask what we're fighting for, or what you want, but I'll go with you to find the answer! Let's go!_

With that, the other Yugi put on her belt, prepared to face the day.

"Oh, and partner?" said the other Yugi.

_Yeah?_ asked Yugi.

"We really should return Jounouchi's Red-Eyes."

Yugi chuckled. _Yeah, we should._

At 8:05 that day, the other Yugi arrived at Domino City Plaza.

"Jounouchi's late…" she said.

"Yugi!" said Maiku.

"Maiku!"

"It's almost time!" said Maiku. "This is the place! Everybody's gathering under the big clock in the center of the plaza!"

"Yes, it's almost time for them to announce the tournament rules," said the other Yugi.

"By the way," said Maiku, "isn't Jounouchi entering this tournament?"

"She should be here any minute!" said the other Yugi.

"Really! So she _is_ dueling!" said Maiku. "She actually made the cut, huh?"

"Maiku! Yugi! Long time no see!" said Ryuzaki.

"What?! Dinosaur Ryuzaki? Insector Haga?"

"Listen, you two!" said Ryuzaki. "You're gonna _pay_ for what you did on the island! So get ready!"

"If you think I'll be as weak as before, you are sorely mistaken," said Haga. "My new insect deck is _much_ more powerful!"

Kajiki laughed. "Insect deck, eh? Wait 'til you see _my_ deck! My Fortress Whale will swallow you in one gulp!"

"What?!" said Ryuzaki. "My dinosaur deck will kick your Fortress Whale's behind!"

"These people are annoying," muttered Tsukiko, who wore a yellow tank top, green camo jacket, and blue jeans.

"Yeah," said Hikari, who wore a pale blue dress.

"Let's go…" said Maiku. "I'm already tired of these people."

Meanwhile, a Rare Hunter was sitting at a table, looking at duelist data on his laptop. "Duelist number 312…" he said. " _She's_ got a nice rare card, too… and hopefully, she won't forget to put it in her deck like the last one…"

Suddenly, a large screen on one of the buildings activated, revealing Kaiba's face. "My fellow duelists, welcome to Battle City!" she said. Everyone looked up at the screen. "I will now explain the rules of the tournament. The participants gathered here today have been acknowledged by Kaiba Corporation as being level five or higher. The Duel Disks on your arms are proof of that! The stage of this tournament is the entirety of Domino City! I have spoken to the civic authorities. No matter where you are within Domino City, if two duelists come face-to-face, you may fight. Each duelist will use a forty-card deck! All matches will be played by ante rules, with the loser surrendering the rare card of the winner's choice! As you win, your deck will become stronger and stronger, but if you lose, it will be hard to catch up! Now, according to the reports, there are forty-eight participants, but only eight will make it to the finals! As for the location of the finals, it's a secret, but it's somewhere within city limits!" She chuckled. "I, too, intend to duel under the same conditions as the rest of you. Therefore, in the interest of fairness, not even _I_ know where the finals will be held!"

"Hey, what does that mean?" asked Hikari. She wasn't joining the tournament, but was curious, especially since she wanted to watch some duels.

"How are the duelists supposed to know where it is?" asked Tsukiko. She herself chose not to join, since she was eliminated fairly early in Duelist Kingdom and wanted to see how higher-level duelists fought.

"Look at the Duel Disks on your arms!" said Kaiba. "On the back you will find a transparent plate! That is a Locator Card! When all the cards from the forty-eight participants are stacked together, a map of Domino City will be revealed. The Locator Cards have a prismatic coating. If you stack any six of them, a light will shine on a certain spot on the plate. That spot is the location of the finals! That's right! When you win a duel, your opponent's puzzle cards become yours! Only those who collect six Locator Cards can reach the unknown location of the finals!"

The crowd cheered.

"The tournament will begin at nine o'clock!" said Kaiba. "Duelists! Scatter across the city!"

"All right, Yugi!" said Maiku. "The next time I see you, we're on!"

Suddenly, the other Yugi heard a voice.

"Aha! I found you!" The voice belonged to Jounouchi, who wore a white t-shirt with a pale blue rectangle on the front and jeans.

_Where was she?!_ wondered the other Yugi.

"I've been lookin' all over for you! You can disappear into the crowd, but you can't hide your snakelike eyes!"

The Rare Hunter slurped his drink. He chuckled. "You have no rare cards… doesn't that mean you can't enter the tournament?"

"That's 'cause you stole my card, you jerk!"

"Jounouchi, what happened?" asked the other Yugi.

"Yugi, be on your guard!" said Jounouchi. "There are Rare Hunters in this tournament!"

"You don't mean… they took one of your cards?!" asked the other Yugi.

"Hold on, Yugi!" said Jounouchi. "Don't fight him!" _With the cards these guys have, nobody can beat them!_

_I won't forgive them!_ thought the other Yugi. "Anyone who steals a duelist's precious cards will have to answer to me!" she said.

The Rare Hunter chuckled. "Does that mean you want to duel me?" he asked.

"Yugi, wait!" said Jounouchi.

"Stay out of the way!" said the other Yugi. "I'll get your card back!" Turning towards the Rare Hunter, she said, "Garbage like you are a disgrace to the city! I'll clean you up right now!"

The Rare Hunter chuckled. "Challenging _me_ to a duel… you're very brave… fine… I accept!" Did this girl think she was in some anime? Did she think that she could win, just because she had "honor" and "pride" as a duelist?

"Stay back, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "So… a Rare Hunter?" she said, to the Rare Hunter. "Counterfeiters and thieves feeding off the sweat of honest gamers and publishers… you've chosen this city as your next target…"

The Rare Hunter chuckled. "Of course," he said. "Japan's best duelists are gathered here in one place. We Rare Hunters are the combat division of the Ghouls. We're _taking_ this tournament and all its rare cards!"

"You scum…" muttered the other Yugi. Out loud, she said, "I'll destroy every single one of you!"

_Heh heh heh…_ thought the Rare Hunter. _Do you imagine you can beat my ultimate Exodia deck?_

"Yugi! I gotta tell you – "

"Quiet, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "I'll get your card back! Don't worry! We're entering this tournament together!"

_Ghh… but he's not somebody you can just beat like that!_ thought Jounouchi. _The Rare Hunters have got all kinds of rare cards, real and bootleg! They've got the greatest decks in the_ _world!_ Out loud, she said, "Just lemme warn you! His deck is – "

"Whoa! Don't finish that thought, Jounouchi!" said the other Yugi. "No matter what kind of dirty tricks this Rare Hunter has up his sleeve, I have no right to know the enemy's strategy before a game! That would give me an unfair advantage!" She turned towards the Rare Hunter. "So do you have a name? Oh, never mind, just come at me with all you've got! No matter what, my deck will crush you!"

The Rare Hunter chuckled. "I admire your fighting spirit," he said, "but I'm going to teach you that it takes more than that to win a duel! And I'll take your best card in the process!"

"Hey!" said Tsukiko. "A duel's already starting! And Yugi's in it!"

"The first fight of the tournament, huh?" asked Hikari. "Let's go see!"

Then the two of them, along with a considerable crowd, went to go watch the duel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so about Jounouchi and her Red-Eyes card. I thought it was kind of stupid that Red-Eyes Black Dragon is supposed to be Jounouchi's signature card, yet he hardly uses it outside of Duelist Kingdom and at least once in Season 4, a _filler arc._ Not to mention, it's kind of foolish to keep a chance-based card *coughTimeWizardcough* in your deck instead of a reliable card like Red-Eyes Black Dragon. So, instead, I had Jounouchi's Time Wizard stolen. But I needed to find a reason that the Rare Hunters who jumped Jounouchi would steal a card besides Red-Eyes Black Dragon. That reason ended up being Jounouchi leaving Red-Eyes Black Dragon behind at the game shop by accident.
> 
> This was actually inspired by something that happened when I dueled in real life for the first time! I used an effect of [Ceruli, Guru of the Dark World](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Ceruli,_Guru_of_Dark_World), a card with an effect that allows you to special summon it to the _opponent's_ side of the field, causing _you_ to discard a card, which is part of the whole strategy of Dark World decks. Well, to put it short, I had summoned it to my friend's side of the field, and after the duel, when we gathered our cards, she accidentally put it in her deck, and I didn't notice until I got home that day that the card was missing. I got it back, thankfully, when we dueled the next day and she accidentally drew that card! So, I decided to have a similar thing happen off-screen, where Yugi played Monster Reborn to summon Jounouchi's Red-Eyes, and accidentally grabbed it when putting her deck back together. I figured it was in-character for Jounouchi to not notice Red-Eyes was missing from her deck until well after (s)he left the shop.
> 
> Of course, I foreshadowed it a bit so it wouldn't be (as) contrived that Jounouchi accidentally left Red-Eyes behind, _just_ in time for someone to try stealing it.


	78. Exodia's Obliteration

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 4000 life points as per the new ruleset. The alterations to the ruleset included an increased number of beginning life points, forty being the minimum number of cards as opposed to the set amount that must be in a deck, the ability to attack an opponent's life points directly if they had no monsters on their side of the field, and tributes required to Normal Summon higher-level monsters. Specifically, monsters at levels 5 or 6 required one tribute and monsters at level 7 or above required two tributes. In addition, various cards worked differently compared to the old ruleset.

The two drew five cards for their starting hand. The Rare Hunter mentally chuckled. He already had two pieces of Exodia in his hand.

"Here I go!" said the other Yugi. "I set two cards face-down and play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack mode!" Gazelle had 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points. The other Yugi was rather impressed with the improved graphics of this Duel Disk. It looked just like the monster was actually there with them.

"Then it's my turn!" said the Rare Hunter. He drew a card. _Yes!_ he thought. "I play the spell card Graceful Charity!" He drew three cards and discarded two. Now he had a third piece of Exodia and a monster he could play.

_Graceful Charity…_ noted the other Yugi. _A hand exchange card._ A very useful card, it provided a decent hand advantage, essentially replacing one card in the hand with another, very possibly useful card of one's choice.

"And now, Stone Statue of the Aztecs! In defense mode!" said the Rare Hunter. It had a measly 300 attack points but a rather useful 2000 defense points.

_Seems like a defensive player,_ noted the other Yugi. _To hurt him, I've got to get through his defenses…_ This reminded her of the Player Killer from Duelist Kingdom. She would have to summon a monster that could destroy the Statue, then directly attack him. Unless he had something up his sleeve… "My turn!" she said, drawing a card. "I play Berfomet! And now I flip over one of my facedown cards! I use Polymerization to fuse my two monsters into Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!" The Chimera had 2100 attack points and 1800 defense points. Its effect allowed one to revive either of its components if the Chimera were destroyed. "According to the new ruleset, I can't attack on the same turn that my creature is Polymerized, but on my next turn, my Chimera will destroy your monster!"

"It's my turn now!" said the Rare Hunter. He drew a card. "I play Graceful Charity once more!"

_He changed his hand again!_ thought the other Yugi.

_Curses, another Right Leg,_ thought the Rare Hunter. _I have three of each card, so of course there's a chance it would happen…_ On the bright side, he now had four of the five cards he needed. Did that naïve girl think she could beat him? The Rare Hunters had all kinds of tools they could use to win duels. In fact, he was using one himself, namely a pair X-Ray contact lenses. The Rare Hunters' bootleg cards had an ink only these lenses could see, letting him see what he was going to draw next. He smirked. His next card was the Left Arm of the Forbidden One, the final card he needed.

"Well then, I'll play another monster!" he said. "Prepare to face Gear Golem the Moving Fortress in defense mode! I end my turn!" The Gear Golem had 800 attack points and 2200 defense points.

_Another high-defense monster!_ thought the other Yugi. _What's going on? It's like he's not trying to attack at all… he's concentrating totally on defense… he'll never even scratch my life points this way… then how does he plan to beat me…? By shuffling his hand…? Aha! I see!_ "Rare Hunter!" she said. "I know what you're planning!"

The Rare Hunter chuckled. "You're bluffing. There's no way you can – "

"I won't let you summon Exodia!" said the other Yugi.

The Rare Hunter's eyes widened. _She figured out my strategy…!_ "Yes, but what can you possibly do on your turn…?" he asked.

"I'll crush Exodia with this card!" she said. She drew a card. Lightforce Sword. "I'll play a facedown card on the field, and attack your Gear Golem with my Chimera! Chimera Impact Dash!" The Chimera easily destroyed the Golem.

Not that it would matter. The moment Yugi's turn ended, the Rare Hunter would win. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"That's the end of my turn!" said the other Yugi.

The Rare Hunter laughed. "Now it's my turn!" He drew a card.

"Before you draw, I activate my spell card!" said the other Yugi. "Lightforce Sword! This spell card will banish one of your cards in your hand for four turns!" Unfortunately, the card it affected was random, and if it wasn't an Exodia card, she would lose.

A sword appeared above the Rare Hunter, who could only gape as he looked up. The blade moved forcefully downward, "stabbing" one of the cards in his hand. "The Sword of Light pierces Exodia's right hand!" said the Rare Hunter. What's more, he didn't have anything he _could_ Summon. He couldn't do anything except surrender.

Suddenly, the Rare Hunter screamed, saying, "Help me… help me… she's coming…"

The other Yugi was shocked. _His forehead is swelling in the shape of the wdjat eye!_

"Yugi! What's happening to him?" asked Jounouchi. "Are you doing that?"

"No…" said the other Yugi.

"She's here! Malika…!" Suddenly, the Rare Hunter stopped. He took on a dead-eyed look. He chuckled, a "Keh keh…" contrasting his usual chuckle. "Are you… Yugi?" he asked, sounding unused to his own vocal chords. "I've heard of you…"

The other Yugi gave him a surprised look.

"The man you just faced was the weakest of the Rare Hunters," explained… the Rare Hunter? "The _real_ strength of the Rare Hunters is much greater." Suddenly, "he" seemed to realize something. "Oh… I don't mean to surprise you. The person talking to you right now isn't this _shell_ you see before you. _I'm_ in a place a bit further away… I've implanted a bit of myself into him, so I can control him whenever I want! He does whatever I desire…"

"Who _are_ you?" asked the other Yugi.

"Like you, I am one who has been chosen by the Millennium Items," said the mind-controlled Rare Hunter. "This was just an introduction. Nice to meet you, Yugi…" He chuckled. "My name is Malika. Remember that! Taking over a person's mind, and controlling their speech and actions as if they were my own… that is the power of my Millennium Rod."

_This Malika must be the enemy Isar mentioned, the one with the seventh Millennium Item!_ thought the other Yugi.

"Taking over people's _minds?!_ You creep!" said Jounouchi.

"Yes, yes," said Malika. "Do you like it? Do you want to see her do a little dance?" She chuckled, making the Rare Hunter do an elaborate, impossible sequence of movements that scared off the crowd that had been watching, and made Tsukiko and Hikari want to vomit. "Fitting for a loser like him! If I must, I can step in and personally control all of the Rare Hunters in Domino City… but they are elite duelists with overwhelming skills, so I doubt I'll have to…"

"Malika! Why are you in this tournament?" asked the other Yugi. "Why are the Ghouls here?"

Malika chuckled. "To gather the God Cards," she said. "The three ancient cards resurrected in the modern world. According to the ancient Egyptians, three stone slabs were said to possess the ultimate power, namely Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra! The one who gathers all three cards will be granted the power of darkness! We Ghouls have two of the cards already. The remaining card is in the hands of someone in this town…"

"So that's why the Rare Hunters are here – to get that card!" said the other Yugi. _Who could have that card…?_ she wondered.

"Yugi, you just fought the weakest of the Ghouls," said Malika. "You were lucky not to face someone stronger. But as long as he lost, I will abide by the rules and return the card he stole from your friend, and the locator card as well!"

The card was Time Wizard. The other Yugi was briefly confused, before remembering that she had Red-Eyes in her pocket.

"Yugi, the game has just begun," said Malika. "A Rare Hunter with a God Card is already lurking in your town! If you meet him, even with your skills, it'll be instant death!" She chuckled.

"We'll see about _that,_ " said the other Yugi. "I'm going to put an end to your plan!" _And with luck, over the course of this tournament, I'll recover my lost memories,_ she thought. "Listen, Malika! Even if your Rare Hunters attack me with the God Cards, you can't stop me! I will defeat you, Malika!"

"I look forward to it, Yugi…" said Malika.

Suddenly, the Rare Hunter's body collapsed.

"He's out cold!" said Jounouchi. "The power to control people, huh… this Malika chick is tough! Where could she be hiding…?"

"What _was_ all that?" asked Tsukiko.

"One moment the Rare Hunter, if that's what they're called, is his typical self, and the next, he's going on some villain monologue, calling himself Malika!" said Hikari.

"It's a long story," said the other Yugi. "Basically, the Rare Hunter has been brainwashed, and the leader of the Ghouls, Malika, has the power to control minds."

"That… that… what?!" said Tsukiko. "That… sounds highly improbable, but then, a lot of this is highly improbable…" She sighed. "I'm not sure if that is what's happening, but I'll just go with it for now…"

"Oh, trust me," said Jounouchi. "Stuff like this happens all the time to us."

"Oh, geez…" said Hikari.

"Okay, I'm going to go find our friends, all right?" asked Tsukiko. "Power in numbers and all that."

"Here, Jounouchi…" said the other Yugi. "These are yours."

Jounouchi looked at the cards in the other Yugi's hand. Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Time Wizard. She could probably accept Red-Eyes, but the Time Wizard…?

"Sorry, Yugi…" she said. "I can take Red-Eyes, but not Time Wizard."

The other Yugi looked at Jounouchi in surprise.

"If I take Time Wizard, I feel like I'll just get farther behind from being the true duelist I'm trying to become," explained Jounouchi. "I relied too much on Time Wizard back in Duelist Kingdom. All those times I succeeded with it? I could have lost, by pure, dumb luck. Red-Eyes might not have any effects, but it's far more reliable, and has cards that can work with it. So, anyway, Yugi, I'll leave that card with you!"

"Jounouchi…" said the other Yugi.

"I put together a new forty-card deck for today's tournament, and with Red-Eyes, it'll be complete," said Jounouchi. "I still have the right to participate. I've got my locator card. I'll have to use Red-Eyes as my ante, though… but I'm gonna be a true duelist! Yugi, will you promise me something? If I do all right in the tournament, and the time comes where I can call myself a duelist, will you fight me?"

"Yes!" said the other Yugi, smiling. "Let's do it, Jounouchi!"

"Thanks, Yugi…" said Jounouchi. She laughed. "All right! The tournament's just gettin' started! Who wants a piece of me?"

_Jounouchi…_ thought the other Yugi. _I was waiting for those words! I'll hold on to your Time Wizard until then! Until we fight as true duelists! When that time comes, we'll meet again!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. About the Battle City rules. I'm sticking with the manga rules, which say that most special summoned monsters cannot attack their first turn. The anime switched this to only fusion monsters, which begs the question of why the only character who _could_ use the "dump and revive" strategy on the Egyptian Gods was Malik (in the manga, it was because Ra and only Ra had an effect that allowed it to bypass this rule). The anime used Vengeful Bog Spirit, stopping monsters from attacking the turn they're summoned... which begs the question of why Ra has an ability that seemingly only exists to counter one card. And then Jounouchi says Yugi needs six cards to summon his god cards, whereas Malik only needs one... _when Yugi also has Monster Reborn._ I'm not usually picky about how the duels themselves turn out, as this fic focuses on fixing _plot_ elements, not _duel_ elements. But this is egregious.
> 
> That being said, I'll still stick to TCG card effects where I can, because this fic needs _something_ to differentiate itself from canon! It's also been a fun challenge to see how a TCG-compliant version of the duels would turn out, particularly with cards that have _drastically_ different effects in the anime/manga compared to the TCG.
> 
> I also changed what card Jounouchi keeps, and her explanation for rejecting the one she doesn't. In canon, Jounouchi rejected keeping Red-Eyes Black Dragon, explaining that he was _relying on it too much,_ even though really, it's more reliable than a lot of the luck-based cards he has, Time Wizard in particular. Like seriously. Time Wizard has a significant chance of backfiring horrendously! Meanwhile, Red-Eyes has no more chance of backfiring than most level seven normal monsters. If Jounouchi relied on it too much, then Atem relies too much on Dark Magician! Of course, that can be argued among people more familiar with the TCG than I am, but the double standard is _astounding._ And like I said earlier, for a card that's meant to be Jounouchi's signature card, he doesn't use Red-Eyes nearly as much as Atem uses Dark Magician or Kaiba uses Blue-Eyes White Dragon.


	79. Super Psychic Standoff!

"Hey, there's a duel over there!" said Jounouchi. "Dinosaur Ryuzaki versus Esper Roba!"

"Dinosaur Ryuzaki!" said Esper Roba, a teal-haired girl. "With my supernatural powers, I can see every card in your hand!"

_Shit!_ thought Ryuzaki. _How does she know what cards I have?!_ That Maiku dude had _claimed_ he had psychic powers, but that was likely a bunch of nonsense, so…

"Furthermore, I've knocked out your monster with my Hypnotic Pendulum!" said Esper Roba. "Listen to it snore! It's over, Ryuzaki! Jinzo! Kill him! Psychic Wave!" With that, Ryuzaki's life points were reduced to zero.

"Arrgh…!" said Ryuzaki. "I couldn't even touch her life points…! That was awful!"

"You see that?" asked a man.

"Yeah, Ryuzaki couldn't do a thing!" said a woman.

"Esper Roba's won two matches already!" said the man.

"Now, Ryuzaki!" said Esper Roba. "Your rarest card, and your locator card!"

"Dammit," muttered Ryuzaki, as she reluctantly handed over both items.

"Hmph," said Esper Roba. " _This_ is your best card? I can't use it in my psychic deck… now, who will be next to fight me?"

The crowd was silent. "I'll pass…" said a boy.

"I don't know if she really has ESP, but I don't have a chance if she can see my cards!" said Hikari.

"I highly doubt it," said Tsukiko. "Who would be stupid enough to actively say they're cheating, anyway?"

Jounouchi approached Esper Roba.

"Don't even think about it, Jounouchi!" said Ryuzaki. "She can predict people's strategies, too! If she can beat _me,_ you don't stand a chance!"

"You mean it?" asked Jounouchi. "You really think I can't beat her?"

"Yeah! No way!" said Ryuzaki.

"Then I will!" said Jounouchi.

"Wh-what?!" said Ryuzaki. "What an idiot…" she muttered.

"Step one to becoming a true duelist – don't pass up an opponent, no matter what! Step two, fight opponents that seem stronger than you! Let's get started!"

"Before we duel, let's confirm each other's ante!" said Esper Roba. "Mine is the rare card Jinzo! And, of course, a locator card!" Jinzo was a strong card. At 2400 attack points and 1500 defense points, it had the effect of negating trap cards and making them impossible to activate as long as it was face-up.

"Mine's the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" said Jounouchi. "And plus, I've got a locator card too!"

"Roger that!" said Esper Roba. "Let's start the duel, shall we?"

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 4000 life points. They each drew five cards.

"I go first!" said Jounouchi. Her hand, unfortunately, only had one monster, Giltia the Dark Knight. She knew better than to try to summon it under the new rules. "…I end my turn…" she said sheepishly.

"I feel the energy of the cosmos passing through me body and becoming one with me!" said Esper Roba, posing dramatically. "At this time, at this place, I will win this duel! It is destiny, the law of the cosmos!"

"Whaddaya mean, destiny?!" asked Jounouchi. _Is this chick nuts?!_ she wondered. _All I did was brick in my opening hand!_

A security guard walked around, stopping when he noticed several people with communication devices.

"I do believe the only monster in your hand is Giltia the Dark Knight to the very left, am I right?" asked Esper Roba. "You also have two copies of Graceful Dice."

Jounouchi was shocked. _She guessed my hand right on the nail!_ she thought. _Except, wait… she said I had_ two _copies of Graceful Dice…_

"It's telepathy," explained Esper Roba. "My mind is one with the cosmos. I have achieved a state of absolute enlightenment! My awareness transcends time and space! You and I are made of the same particles, Jounouchi! I am you! I am your cards!"

_I don't get it,_ thought Jounouchi. Was she faking her powers or not? Maiku had, but Pegasus hadn't. Then again…

"My turn!" said Esper Roba. "I summon Cyber Raider! You have no monsters! I attack your life points directly! Cyber Knuckle!"

The hologram seemed to run straight up to Jounouchi, punching her in the face. She let out a yell of pain when the monster's fist struck her face. She gulped. _Even though I know it's just a hologram, it's like I can actually feel the pain!_ Her life points were now at 2600.

"I end my turn," said Esper Roba.

"My turn…" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. Swordsman of Landstar. 500 attack points, 1200 defense points. Well, it was better than nothing. It may have been a weak card on its own, but at least she had _a_ monster. This, combined with her dice cards, could be useful… she would have to take a gamble.

Esper Roba shut her eyes, putting her index fingers and her middle fingers to her forehead. Again. _Radio nutjob,_ Jounouchi thought.

"You drew Swordsman of Landstar, didn't you?" asked Esper Roba. "That's what my telepathy detected!"

Jounouchi's brows raised.

"Does it shock you?" asked Esper Roba. "My telepathic ability was a gift from the cosmos! Right now, I'm communicating with the spirit of Pegasus J. Crawford, the designer of Duel Monsters, who was tragically murdered a few months ago. She is the master of this game! That's how I know your hand."

The security guard moved closer to Esper Roba, still staying within the crowd. Hikari noticed a group of girls nigh-identical to Esper Roba, save for being different ages and heights, holding a radio. She whispered something to the security guard.

_Is she for real?!_ wondered Jounouchi.

"Now it's your turn!" said Esper Roba. "Play your next card!"

It was time to pull off a necessary gamble. Even if Esper Roba's ESP were real, Jounouchi figured she probably couldn't predict a die roll. "Here I go!" said Jounouchi. "Swordsman of Landstar! And I play two facedown cards and end my turn!"

_Facedown cards…_ thought Esper Roba. _At least one of them is surely Graceful Dice… I get it. The instant my monster attacks, she'll activate it, increase its attack points, then destroy my monster. Heh heh. Jounouchi, I already know your plan! You're trying to bait me into attacking, then destroy my monster when you power up Landstar, because luck is one thing I can't predict… very interesting. I accept your challenge!_ "Here I go!" she said. "I tribute my monster to summon the Fiend Megacyber!" At 2200 attack points and 1200 defense points, the only way the Swordsman of Landstar would be able to destroy it was if Jounouchi rolled a five or a six.

"I activate a spell card!" said Jounouchi. "Sword and Shield!" The Swordsman of Landstar now had 1200 attack points and 500 defense points, and the Fiend Megacyber had 1200 attack points and 2200 defense points. "I also activate Graceful Dice!"

A yellow humanoid creature with a large head, wearing a tuxedo and a top hat with feathered wings, flew upward, holding a large blue die. Once it got up to a certain height, it tossed the die forward.

_You can't win with luck alone!_ thought Esper Roba. _A duel is more than that!_

_C'mon! Six!_ thought Jounouchi. This would result in the most ideal scenario.

The die landed on a three.

"Too bad!" said Esper Roba. "Even with 1500 attack points, your monster is no match for mine! Fiend Megacyber, attack!"

Jounouchi chuckled. "I activate a trap card, Skull Dice!"

Another humanoid creature with a large head, with blue skin and a pointed black hat with bat wings, flew upward, holding a large red die. It rolled the die, landing on a six. Now Fiend Megacyber only had 600 attack points

"Now _your_ monster's going down!" said Jounouchi. Swordsman of Landstar counterattacked, leaving Esper Roba with 3100 life points. "The reason why you _thought_ I had two Graceful Dice in my hand," explained Jounouchi, "is because the cards were on top of each other, so you only saw the word "dice!" You _don't_ have telepathy! Somebody, somewhere, is peeking at my cards!"

The security guard noticed, as well, when he heard the teal-haired girls talking into the radio.

Esper Roba's eyes widened.

"Ha! 'In touch with the cosmos?' Yeah, _right!_ " said Jounouchi. "Don't make me laugh, you scam artist! I know your trick! You got spies looking at my hand!"

"What do you mean, 'spies?'" asked Esper Roba. "Who, pray tell? Somebody in the audience? Don't make baseless accusations, Jounouchi. You've only won one turn. Listen! A guess with no basis is called speculation!"

" _You're_ the one with the baseless speculation!" said Hikari.

"The burden of proof lies with _you,_ Roba!" said Tsukiko. "We don't have _proof_ of your supposed 'psychic powers!'"

"I'll predict the future using my powers, and it'll come true, I guarantee!" continued Esper Roba. "I will win this duel! You will lose! Do you know how I know? I've never lost a duel in my life! Furthermore, you are an amateur! I have more experience! Therefore, the future is certain!"

"I think I've heard enough," said a security guard. Esper Roba and Jounouchi turned to see the security guard. "Esper Roba, you're disqualified for cheating."

"Wh-what?!" asked Esper Roba.

"I couldn't help but notice a little something in your ears," explained the security guard. "A headset, perhaps? And furthermore, I saw your accomplices." He jabbed a thumb to the nigh-identical set of spectators. "Your siblings, perhaps?"

Esper Roba was stunned into silence.

"Give up your locator card and rare card," said the security guard.

Esper Roba did just that, reluctantly. When the security guard left, she ran off. Jounouchi went after her. Eventually, Jounouchi found her, kneeling down in an alley, crying.

"Hey… are you okay?" asked Jounouchi.

Esper Roba growled. "Don't look down on me!" she said.

"I'm not looking down on you, man," said Jounouchi. "I'm just trying to see if you're okay."

"Shut up! Be quiet!" said Esper Roba.

"I'm just saying, are you sure you're gonna be all right?" asked Jounouchi.

"I _can't_ lose! I _can't!_ " said Esper Roba.

Jounouchi was silent.

"It doesn't matter how I do it, as long as I win!" said Esper Roba. "I need people to respect me! If everyone thinks I'm a good duelist, my little sisters won't be picked on! Being good at card games was the only way I could protect them… everyone _loves_ to pick on wimps and people who look different! I have to be strong!"

Jounouchi decided a blunter approach was probably for the best. "Stop whining, man," she said. "This is Battle City. Just get up and fight again another day. Fairly, that is."

"Get lost!" said Esper Roba. "I don't need your pity!"

"Hmph! Fine! Do what you want!" said Jounouchi. Just then, she heard people.

"Stand up, sister!" said one of them. Jounouchi turned to look.

"Sister…" said another. Before Jounouchi and Esper Roba was a group of three girls and a baby. They all looked nigh-identical to Esper Roba, save for their heights.

"Guys!" said Esper Roba, smiling. She went over to hug them. "I'm sorry…!" she said. "I deserved to be disqualified because I made you guys do all that stuff for me!"

_So_ they're _her "psychic powers?"_ wondered Jounouchi. _But still… how can I hate 'em?!_

"Well, Jounouchi, I'll concede. I lost, rightfully."

"Roba, what you really need to show your little sisters is how to play fair!" said Jounouchi.

"You're right!" said Roba. "Next time I challenge you to a duel I won't use any tricks!"

"Yeah!" said one of Roba's sisters. "Our big sister will beat you with pure skill!"

"I'm looking forward to it!" said Jounouchi. She took a deep breath. "Roba, I have friends in this town, and you have your sisters!" Smiling, she said, "As long as you're not alone, you're always strong! And you are never truly alone!"

Roba smiled.

"Well, later, man!" said Jounouchi. She walked off to go meet up with Yugi, Tsukiko, and Hikari. She took a good look at her new card. Jinzo. As long as it was face-up on the field, no trap cards could be activated, and all face-up trap cards would be negated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it was stupid of Jounouchi to try summoning a monster he couldn't summon under the new rules in canon, so here I had her not do anything that turn, with the explanation that she got a bricked hand.
> 
> I also decided to have Esper Roba disqualified because frankly, if someone _were_ claiming to be psychic and outright saying that they were using their powers to cheat at card games, they'd be disqualified. Especially since it's _Kaiba_ running the Battle City tournament. They've _seen_ psychic powers in action, and I'm using Kaiba's manga/Japanese anime characterization (in which he is fully aware that the supernatural stuff is real, he just wants no part of it unless it gets him a duel with Atem) rather than the dub characterization (where he insists that no, supernatural things are _not_ real, even though he's seen evidence to the contrary, up until DSOD that is) as a reference for the fic, since it's mostly based on the manga. Thus I think Kaiba would tell the people responsible for disqualification of duelists to disqualify anyone claiming to have psychic powers, just in case. I still foreshadowed that, however, so it wouldn't be a clumsily-written disqualification.
> 
> Also, Esper Roba got annoying to write, so there's that.
> 
> In the case of the Rare Hunters and Haga, with their cheating methods, they aren't actively going around bragging about cheating with or without fake psychic powers (and in Pandora's case, he actively decided to duel someplace that would be difficult to find in the first place), hence why they won't be disqualified.
> 
> As for why Isis/Isar wouldn't get disqualified on those grounds, I doubt they would claim supernatural powers, except to Yugi and co., who are in the know regarding the Millennium Items. As such, to outsiders, they would simply be thought of as a really good duelist, rather than a psychic using their powers to cheat.


	80. No Men or Kings, Only Gods

10:12 AM. A duel had just finished.

"What're you talking about?!" yelled a blond man. "That rare card doesn't even _compare_ to mine!"

"B-but you agreed to this ante before we started the duel!" said a dark-haired man.

"I changed my mind!" said the blond man. "Listen, I won the duel! The loser has to do whatever the winner says! I'll give you a choice. You either give me a card equal to my card, pay me one hundred thousand yen, or get beaten up so bad you'll never duel again!"

"P-please…" said the dark-haired man. "This is the best rare card I have…"

"I'm gonna break your fingers!" said the blond man.

"Hold it right there!" said a kid's voice. The two turned to the source of the voice.

"Who's this kid?" he asked.

"I'm Battle City's steering committee chairperson!" said Mokuno. "It's my job to settle disputes that come up during the tournament!" She took the cards from the duelists. "Ante trouble is the most common problem in tournaments! I'll handle this as a neutral party! It's forbidden to change the ante after a duel! It's _also_ against the rules to bet for money!" She examined the cards. One of them, Hyozanryu, had 2100 attack points and 2800 defense points, and the other was only slightly weaker. "There's no problem with the comparable rarity of these two cards. It's more than enough as an ante. There's no reason not to accept."

"You wanna _die,_ kid?" asked the blond man. "Don't mess with _my rules!_ "

"You poor duelist…" said a woman's voice, deep and commanding. The blond man turned to see who had spoken. "When you insult my little sister, you insult Kaiba Corporation. I assume you're prepared for the consequences…"

"Setomi Kaiba!" said the blond man, terrified.

"Setomi, here's his ante!" said Mokuno, knowing the can of worms this man had just opened.

"Hmm… Hyozanryu…" murmured Kaiba. She spoke up. "I'm shocked you can demand so much for a card like this…" She had 36 copies of this one. She tore it in half.

"Y-you little shit! Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing?!"

"You wouldn't have gotten this card back anyway," said Kaiba, "because I'm challenging you to a duel right now. And I'm willing to ante this entire case full of cards!" Mokuno opened up the briefcase to show off the truly extraordinary number of cards in it.

"Whoa…" said the blond man. "Th-these are all rare cards… so if I beat you, these are mine?!"

"It's compensation for Hyozanryu," she said. "In fact, why don't you take all the rare cards you like. Take a few minutes to improve your deck. Of course, if you lose, I'll take them all back…"

The blond man laughed as he went through the cards. Not that he was ever going to be able to keep them, if Kaiba had anything to say about it.

"My deck has something called a God Card," explained Kaiba. "This card is so unbelievably rare that I wouldn't sell it for even fifty billion yen. And I'll even make that card part of my ante!" It was all a trap, of course.

"I'm gonna hold you to that…" said the blond man as the two prepared to duel. He chuckled. _Thanks to you, my deck is unbeatable! There's no way I can lose!_ "C'mon, let's duel!"

_Mheh heh… I'll show you a god…_ Kaiba thought.

The duel began. The number of life points did not matter in the end. The duelists drew five cards for their starting hands.

"My turn!" said Kaiba. Yes. Excellent. She may not have had summonable monsters, but she did have a card that could change that. "I activate the spell card Hand Destruction!" Both duelists discarded their entire hands. She drew four cards to replace the ones she had just discarded. Luck was on her side again. "I summon Lord of Dragons! I now activate The Flute of Summoning Dragons!" This card allowed her to special summon two dragon monsters from her hand. She summoned Kaiser Glider and Thunder Dragon. "I end my turn," she said.

The man broke out in a sweat. He drew a card. Dammit. His hand was bricked. Nothing he could do. "I… I end my turn…" said the man.

Kaiba chuckled. "You can't even play a facedown card? Fine then. I tribute my three monsters to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"

Obelisk had a truly gigantic form. The thing was a giant blue humanoid… _thing_ that the blond man could have sworn went to above the rooftops of all the nearby buildings. The man gulped. That… that thing had _how_ many attack points?!

And dammit, his hand was _still_ bricked. "I end my turn… again…"

"Not even putting up a fight?" asked Kaiba. "Obelisk, attack his life points directly!"

The man screamed as the Solid Vision hologram punched him, leaving him with zero life points.

The dark-haired man gathered his cards back up as Kaiba and Mokuno left the alley.

_Two cards left!_ thought Kaiba. _When I find the God Cards in this city, I will_ truly _have the deck of a god! A deck that all duelists will bow down to! Yugi! I'll meet you on the road to battle!_ She was very much looking forward to it. The very thought left her heart pounding.

Meanwhile, in the Rare Hunters' hideout…

"So… you have identified the owner of Obelisk," said Malika.

"Yes, Malika," said one of the Rare Hunters. "Domino City, north block C… the owner of Obelisk the Tormentor is Setomi Kaiba."

Malika chuckled. "I should have known…" she said.

"But Malika, how did Kaiba get her hands on the card?" asked the Rare Hunter.

"I can imagine…" said Malika. "She hosted this tournament because she got her hands on Obelisk. Her whole purpose is to unify the gods…" _Brother…_ she thought. _It was_ you _who had the last card. You must have sensed a possible future. You knew that if you gave Obelisk to Kaiba, she would hold a tournament like this. And you knew that, by the gods' guidance, my fate and Yugi's would intersect. But, in the end, the God Cards will come together in my hands!_

"Kaiba is still in North Block. Shall I assemble the Rare Hunters to attack her?"

"Kaiba is an extraordinary duelist," said Malika. "Even the Rare Hunters will have a hard time now that she possesses Obelisk… to fight a God Card, you _need_ a God Card."

"You wouldn't…!"

"I, the wielder of the Winged Dragon of Ra, will personally go to Domino City," said Malika.

"But Malika…!" said the Rare Hunter. "Must you dirty your hands…?"

"Eventually I _will_ have to fight Kaiba," said Malika. "But now that we know she has Obelisk, we can let her be for a while. She may be of use to us. Put somebody on Kaiba and make sure not to lose her. Before that, there is someone in Domino City who can _entertain_ me…"

"'Entertain?'" asked the Rare Hunter. _Malika uses that word only when she is filled with hatred…_

"Yugi," said Malika. "Where is she at the moment?"

"Malika? Yugi? Are you sure…?" asked the Rare Hunter. "We have information she is heading from East B Block towards E Block." _I don't understand,_ he thought. _Why is Malika after Yugi…?_

"I see…" said Malika. "There's only one place she could be going… call Pandora the Conjurer. Tell him to prepare for a duel. Yugi should soon appear in front of him. It'll take some time for me to get to Domino City. In the meantime, let Yugi play around with Pandora… it'll at least keep her occupied for a while."

"Malika, I've ordered Pandora to keep watch on Yugi's friends," said the Rare Hunter.

"Prepare to make use of _them,_ too," said Malika. She arose from her seat. "Well, then, I shall get ready…"

She made her way over to a large table, where the Winged Dragon of Ra was. She picked it up. _Beware, Yugi!_ she thought. _I must take care of you with my own hands!_ She removed her cloak, revealing her civilian disguse. _Isar, I swear by the scars on your flesh, these scars of hatred, to defeat Yugi! I will not forgive_ her, _the woman who killed our father!_

Meanwhile, in Domino City, at 10:36 AM…

_Where could they be?_ wondered the other Yugi. _Somewhere in this crowd are Rare Hunters, waiting to prey upon duelists… there must be a clue to find them…_ She remembered something. The Rare Hunter had stolen Jounouchi's Time Wizard… but why? If they were after a powerful, rare card Jounouchi had, they would have gone for Red-Eyes… _if Jounouchi had it._ Clearly they knew Jounouchi had a rare card, if they were attacking her the night _before_ the tournament… which meant…

_The card shop!_ said Yugi. _The store we got our Duel Disks at! The clerk there looked up duelists' cards and levels when he gave out the Duel Disks!_

"That's it!" said the other Yugi. "That store is a front for the Rare Hunters!" With that, she ran off to the card shop. Oddly enough, it was closed, but the door wasn't locked…

The other Yugi entered the shop. She made her way to the back room, where there was a computer, still turned on. The screen was displaying…

_My duelist data…_ thought the other Yugi. There was several pieces of information: Her name, her duelist level (indeed eight), and, under the words "Rare Card," an image of the Dark Magician card. The Dark Magician seemed to be glaring from behind the screen. Suddenly, a hologram of the Dark Magician appeared above the computer. Evidently, it was based on an alternate artwork, as her skin was much darker, and she had white hair and wore red robes.

This Dark Magician chuckled. "I've been waiting, Yugi…" she said. "I knew from the start that you'd come here… my master, the great Pandora, will duel you! I'll show you that there is only one _true_ user of the ultimate spellcaster card, the mighty Pandora the Conjurer!"

The other Yugi chuckled. "Stop this petty trick and come out, Rare Hunter!" she said. Evidently it was some kind of hologram trick.

The hologram faded, and from the darkness appeared a man in a red suit, wearing a striped teal-and-black mask. "Welcome…" he said. "I am the Rare Hunter, Pandora, also known as the Conjurer, and the one true Dark Magician user…"

"Dark Magician user, eh…?" asked the other Yugi.

"Yugi, I know that you, too, use the Dark Magician! You've used it to defeat many foes! But! I am the _true_ master of magicians! No one can beat my Dark Magician deck!"

"Hmph…" said the other Yugi. "We'll see about that… you Rare Hunters may have powerful cards, but do you have the _knowledge_ or _skill_ to use them…? I accept your challenge, Pandora! I'll fight you, magician versus magician!"

" _That's_ the spirit! Good!" said Pandora. "How kind of you to accept… so there's no need for _force._ This is an honor." He paused. "Well then, this room is too small to fight properly. I have prepared a duel arena in the basement of the shop. This way, please…" With that, he walked over and opened a trap door in the store. The other Yugi followed him. "Incidentally, Malika told me you might be dropping by. I took the time to set up something _special,_ so you wouldn't get bored."

_Malika!_ thought the other Yugi. "You talked to Malika?" she asked. "Where is she, Pandora? Tell me now!"

"Hmm…" said Pandora. "Where is she, I wonder…? She's close. _Very_ close. You might even say… she's in _here…_ " he said, pointing to his own head. He chuckled.

_That's right!_ thought the other Yugi. _Malika has the power to possess her underlings and make them do whatever she wants…! Could Malika be watching right now…?_

Pandora stopped at a door with a question mark. "Here we are," he said.. "This is my underground arena." He opened the door, revealing the arena.

The place was a high-up platform, with stairs on the side closest to the door and presumably also on the other side. There was a circular indent in the middle, which itself had a square platform, with a hexagram in the middle. The parts closest to the stairs had shorter walls, just tall enough for a person to sit comfortably. All over the walls were all kinds of magicians' tools and occult paraphernalia.

_This room looks like a bad dream,_ thought the other Yugi.

"A conjurer has many powers," said Pandora. "From simple card tricks to the ability to bring nightmares to life… and now, I believe this is a worthy stage for a match between two Dark Magicians." He chuckled. "Now, let us shuffle our decks. Whether we can draw our magicians, or die horrible, all depends on this moment…!"

The two shuffled their decks. The other Yugi noticed something odd about Pandora's shuffling…

"The riffle shuffle will damage your cards, you know," said the other Yugi. Duelists in Japan tended to prefer the Hindu shuffle, followed by dividing the deck in half and gently pushing them together, while American duelists preferred the overhand shuffle instead of the Hindu shuffle. Either way, most duelists used methods that did not bend the cards.

"I'm used to this way," said Pandora. He was used to shuffling standard playing cards, where the condition didn't matter as long as cards were not recognizably marked.

"I'll cut your cards," said the other Yugi. This was standard practice, but she _especially_ wanted to do it this time because there was something suspicious about the way Pandora had shuffled…

"There's an old saying among gamblers," said Pandora. "'Trust your friends, but always cut the cards…'"

"I'm sorry," said the other Yugi, "but I don't make friends with Ghouls." Especially since the edges of Pandora's deck didn't feel as smooth as a normal deck should…

Pandora chuckled. "What a pity," he said. "But now that we are committed to dueling, I'd like to show you something that will prove that we're true duelists! A nightmare show with you as the star!" He pulled on a chain.

_Shackles on my legs…!_ thought the other Yugi. She was grateful to be wearing pants. The shackles likely would have been cold on her calves.

"I have them too," said Pandora. "Now neither of us can escape! And now you will witness the greatest show of the century, Pandora's daring escape from the very jaws of death!" He cackled. The other Yugi questioned his mental stability.

Suddenly, a saw appeared from a crevice running along the circular hole. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "A one-hundred-tooth, carbide-tipped saw blade. Just like they use to saw women in half! As I'm sure you've guessed already, this duel will use my house rules! Do you see the numbers marked on the cutter's rails?" he asked. "Those are the players' life points!"

_Ghh…_ thought the other Yugi. _As the player's life points reach zero, the blade gets closer and closer… until…_

"Chop!" said Pandora. "This is a nightmare game where the loser's body will be sawed apart! Now look! You see the box under my chair? You have the same thing on your side. In this box is a key that will unlock the shackles on our legs. The display on the box shows the enemy's life points. It is designed to open when it reaches zero! In other words, only the winner can escape!"

"Pandora, you're crazy!" said the other Yugi.

"According to Greek mythology," said Pandora, "Pandora's box was created by the gods to contain all the misfortune in the world. But when a woman named Pandora opened it, all the evil escaped, bringing evil, suffering, and pain. But one thing remained in the box, hope. This key is our hope, but only for one of us." He laughed maniacally.

"Is this _fun_ for you?" asked the other Yugi.

"Hmm?" asked Pandora.

"A battle that kills people," said the other Yugi. "I'm asking you. Is it _fun?_ "

"Why, yes," said Pandora. "Because _I'm_ the one who'll win."

"You filthy scum!" said the other Yugi. "I'll take you to the very edge of your life!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic changes who the heir to the Tomb Keepers is. Mainly because in the original version, there could be a possible "you must do your familial duty, no matter what pain it causes to you" message if the person who didn't want to help the pharaoh for very understandable reasons ends up doing it anyway because of familial duty as part of their redemption arc. Meanwhile, Isis wanted to help the pharaoh all along. So now it becomes more of a "it is unethical to make others do as you want" message, which could work symbolically with the Millennium Rod being a tool of brainwashing that Malika ultimately rids herself of post-redemption. Also something of a "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink" type of story. You can bring the Tomb Keeper to the surface but you can't force them to rebel against their self-perceived destiny. So in a way, at least one genderflip helps the plot.
> 
> Also, I think the Ishtars' father would have only wanted a male heir (considering that in canon he had the younger Malik be the Tomb Keepers' heir rather than Isis, with no indication that he would even consider her an option, and he was living underground, as part of a family that had been living underground for 3000 years, _and_ likely kept solely to themselves, so they probably believed in outdated gender roles), so it would make sense that he would raise Isar as the heir in this fic. If I had kept Malika as the heir, then the explanation would be that their father considered Isar's temperament to be "too weak," and raised Malika the way he would've raised another son (with the precedent being all the priestesses who served the Nameless Pharaoh), with the pink crop top and jewelry being a rebellion against that once she was free. That last bit, with Malik(a)'s clothes being rebellion against their father's teachings, is now my new headcanon.
> 
> On a much different note, I elaborated on how Kaiba managed to get Obelisk out so soon during the duel against the nameless duelist here. Neither the anime nor the manga had an explanation, so I created one! It's not exactly a first-turn summon, but with the manga Battle City rules not allowing any monsters (with the exception of Ra due to its effect) to attack the first turn they're special summoned, and the god cards having effects that send them to the graveyard at the end of the turn if they were special summoned, Obelisk would have been a sitting duck if I had made it a first-turn summon.
> 
> And the bit about shuffling methods is taken from what I've learned in real life about shuffling! The usual methods of shuffling cards tend to vary by region. Yes, I'm fully aware that real life Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments don't use either shuffling method, to my knowledge, as either method risks exposing the cards the player uses. But real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments also don't use Duel Disks, but rather tables, so they have methods available to them that the characters don't. Also, they're usually standing a yard or so apart, so the cards aren't usually too visible from that distance.


	81. The Magician's Apprentice

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 4000 life points. They drew their opening hands.

"I go first!" said the other Yugi.

Pandora chuckled when he saw his hand. This was going brilliantly so far. He had the Dark Magician already. And all thanks to a little trick…

"Get ready! It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. "I set a card, and play a card in defense mode!"

"Now it's my turn!" said Pandora. He drew a card. "I also set a monster in defense mode!" _Heh heh,_ he thought. _I just need to play one more monster, and then I can tribute both of them to summon the Dark Magician!_

"And back to me!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. "Pandora! Instead of attacking this turn, I'll play a spell card! And that card is Card Destruction!"

_Wh-what…?!_ thought Pandora. Things were _not_ going so brilliantly for him.

"We both discard our hands! You too, Pandora!"

_Discard… my hand… discard… Dark Magician…?!_

The other Yugi chuckled. "Judging from your look of panic, I guess you _did_ have Dark Magician! Only a _fool_ would duel a conjurer without taking precautions against _cheating…_ someone who riffle shuffles Duel Monsters cards obviously doesn't care about their long term condition. I knew you'd cut up your cards and mark them without thinking twice!" She bet that Pandora was either replacing expensive cards on a regular basis, or was constantly changing his strategy completely. In the latter case, there was probably a card he didn't even know about…

"Th-then… you cut my deck _knowing_ my trick…?" asked Pandora.

The other Yugi chuckled.

"Shit!" said Pandora.

The other Yugi smirked. Pandora didn't even have a back-up plan for when he _couldn't_ summon Dark Magician! "My turn's not over yet! I reveal my facedown card, Brain Control! I take control of your monster! I sacrifice these two monsters to summon the Dark Magician!"

Pandora was shocked.

"This is it, Pandora!" said the other Yugi. "I'll play any game, no matter how dangerous! But if you want to kill me, you better be ready to pay the price! Dark Magician, attack his life points directly! Black Magic!" With that, Pandora was knocked down to 1500 life points. "With that one attack, your life points are reduced to less than half! Let's see this 'show of the century' you were talking about!"

With that, the blade swiftly moved closer to Pandora. He screamed in panic.

"What, are you _surprised?_ " asked the other Yugi. "You shaved your cards to try to cheat me. If _that's_ your idea of tactics, maybe I'll shave a few inches off of _you!_ If you want to give up, now's the time…"

"G-give up?! Never!" yelled Pandora. He laughed. "This is great! It's so fun! The taste of _death!_ The _tension!_ The _frisson!_ I wish you could taste it too!"

The other Yugi was startled. There was over-the-top, like what she and Kaiba could be, and then there was _this_ over-the-top, like he was a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

"Listen, Yugi…" said Pandora. "I am a conjurer! _I'm_ in control here! _You_ are just the audience for my show!" _I wouldn't be a real magician if I didn't have some tricks up my sleeve…_ "I am the one who will win… I am the one who will live…" Suddenly, he began shouting. "You're the one who'll be chopped to mincemeat! You, Yugi! You!"

"So much for audience sympathy," the other Yugi deadpanned. "Let's get this game over with."

"We're on!" said Pandora. "My turn!" He drew a card. _Yugi's unleashed her Dark Magician…_ he thought. _I can't get hit again, or I'm dead… so…_ "I set one monster in defense mode! And then, I play a facedown card and end my turn!"

_He only has one defensive monster on his side,_ thought the other Yugi. _I'll summon another monster on my turn, attack twice, and I'll win!_

_That's right…_ thought Pandora. _Go ahead and summon your monster! When you do, my Dark Magician will be revived!_

"Here I go!" said the other Yugi. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior!" It head 1700 attack points and 1600 defense points. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"I activate a trap card!" said Pandora. "Coffin of Dark Resurrection!"

_What?!_ thought the other Yugi. _A trap!_

"A coffin appears, sucking your monsters in like a black hole!" said Pandora. "The coffin resurrects Dark Magician in exchange for two souls… one of your monsters and one of mine!"

_He's bringing back his dead Magician!_ thought the other Yugi.

"Come out, Dark Magician!" said Pandora. From the coffin emerged another one. In contrast to the pale skin and purple hair and robes of the other Yugi's Dark Magician, Pandora's Dark Magician had dark skin, white hair, and red robes. The two Dark Magicians looked at each other, the other Yugi's having a stoic expression and Pandora's bearing the smirk that her artwork had.

_Now the real battle begins, Yugi!_ thought Pandora.

_Two monsters with the same attack points can't just recklessly fight each other…_ thought the other Yugi. _If that happens, both of them will die… summoning another monster can be dangerous too… whoever summons a new monster first will be at a disadvantage, because they'll be an easy target for the opponent's Magician… he should know that too… the only way out of this stalemate is to defeat the enemy Magician with spells, traps, or monster effects!_ "I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn!" she said.

_So…! You're not_ entirely _ignorant of how to fight a Dark Magician…_ thought Pandora. He drew card. "I'll follow your example," he said. "I'll play two facedown cards and end my turn."

The other Yugi drew a card. "Then I'll play one more," she said.

Pandora drew a card. "As shall I…" he said.

This repeated once more, such that they each had a Dark Magician and four facedown cards on their sides of the field.

"Enough waiting!" said Pandora. "I'm going to attack! Spell card, Mystic Guillotine!" A guillotine appeared on the field. Dark Magician was suddenly chained down to the base, such that she was in danger of being beheaded. "Die!" he said.

"Not so fast!" said the other Yugi. "I play a spell card, Magical Hats!"

Four hats appeared, one of them taking the Dark Magician's place, so that it was chopped instead. The other three were safely away from the guillotine.

"You can't get away that easily!" said Pandora. "Thousand Knives!" It allowed the user to destroy a single monster as long as they controlled a Dark Magician.

Exactly what you would expect from the name showed up. The knives floated up, assumed a horizontal position pointed towards the other Yugi's monsters, and prepared to stab the Hats. "Now I've got you!" said Pandora.

"Heh," said the other Yugi. "De-Spell!"

"What?!" asked Pandora. "The magic knives are gone?!" Indeed, as quickly as they had appeared, the knives had vanished into mist. The other Yugi's Dark Magician was unharmed, giving a small smirk nearly identical to the other Yugi's.

_Why you…!_ At this point, Pandora was desperate, and frustrated. "Attack!" he yelled. "Black Magic!" Both Magicians were destroyed, vanishing into mist.

"Monster Reborn!" said the other Yugi. She revived the Dark Magician. She chuckled. Pandora growled. "Not bad, Pandora!" she said. "It seems our Magicians are evenly matched…"

_The legends don't lie, Yugi…_ thought Pandora. _Your skill in dueling is plain to see… but don't forget I have the upper hand! I've been preparing to fight you. I knew you used the Dark Magician… and that's why my deck includes the ultimate anti-spellcaster card…_ "A fierce exchange!" said Pandora. "But now it's my turn!" He drew a card. "I play a face-down card! That's all!"

"Back to me!" said the other Yugi. "Two facedown cards! Turn over!"

"Are you ready?!" asked Pandora. "Spell card! Beckon to the Dark! The 'hand of the void' will take one of your monsters into the darkness forever! That's right, your Dark Magician!"

A giant arm appeared from above Pandora's Dark Magician, grabbing Dark Magician.

"Trap card! Mystical Rift Panel!" said the other Yugi. "I'm going to turn your spell right back at you!"

"Just as I planned…" said Pandora. "The arm was a decoy to make you play a trap card!" He laughed maniacally. "And you fell for it! Counter-trap, activate! Nightmare Chains!"

A wooden grid appeared behind the other Yugi's Dark Magician. She was chained to this grid. The Dark Magician gave the other Yugi a rather nervous look that struck her as almost _real._

Pandora laughed. "Now your Dark Magician can only watch as her owner is tortured to death!" he exclaimed.

The other Yugi growled. _With Dark Magician out of the picture,_ she thought, _he'll be able to attack my life points directly!_

"Are you ready…?" asked Pandora. "Go, my slave! Dark Magician! Blast Yugi to bits! Black Magic!" The other Yugi now had 1500 life points. "And now, it's showtime!" he said. "Just like a slaughterhouse!" The sawblade moved towards the other Yugi. It was dangerously close… "Are you ready to be dismembered, Yugi? Care for a little _body modification?_ When your life drops to zero, my great escape will be complete, and you'll bring down the curtain with your own blood! Now, Yugi! It's your last turn!"

_If I can't block her next attack, I lose…!_ thought the other Yugi. She drew a card. "I set a monster in defense position!" she said.

"So you're on the defensive…" said Pandora. "I see… you think you can _cower_ behind that monster to escape my sorcerer's next attack… but it won't work. At the end of your next turn, your legs will come off below the knee! Try dueling _then!_ For now I'll summon a monster, Malice Doll of Demise!" This monster had 1600 attack points and 1700 defense points. "And now, this is the spell card that will seal your death! A spell which affects the entire board, Ectoplasmer!"

_No… not that!_ thought the other Yugi. _Not Ectoplasmer!_

Pandora chuckled. "Of course you are aware… this card can extract ectoplasm, soul energy, from a monster and use it as a weapon! And it's go right around your wall! Of course, the monster whose soul is extracted will _die…_ but if that's what it takes to win, it's a small price to pay! Here goes… on this turn, Dark Magician and Doll of Demise will be converted to ectoplasm! Ectoplasm Extraction! Ectoplasm Beam! Fire!"

The other Yugi let out a cry of pain as her life points were reduced to 700. _One more hit and I'm dead,_ she thought.

The Dark Magician looked at Yugi, and seemed to be _sweating._

"Yugi…" said Pandora. "Do you know why you couldn't beat me, despite your prodigious skills? I will tell you. You lacked the ruthlessness to be a true master of magicians! You lack foresight! Look at your slave, tied to the grid, because you cared so much about protecting it! And now, you cannot protect _yourself,_ because your Dark Magician cannot do anything!"

"You scum…!" said the other Yugi. Rubbing it in her face that he was winning was the last straw.

Pandora laughed. "Dark Magician! Give me your life so that I can win!" he said.

Suddenly, something that neither duelist could explain happened. Pandora's Dark Magician looked _terrified._

"Ectoplasm extraction!" said Pandora. "The Dark Magician's soul is mine! Fire! I win!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

There was a beam coming out of the Dark Magician?

_What…?!_ thought Pandora. _Her Magician turned to ectoplasm by itself?_

The other Yugi was just as confused. It was like that inexplicable time in Duelist Kingdom where Blue-Eyes White Dragon vanished mid-attack… at least the first time that happened, before even Death-T, it was her Shadow Game magic…

At any rate, the attacks canceled each other out, leaving both duelists with empty fields.

"It takes more than ruthlessness to win, Pandora…" said the other Yugi. "Mindless sacrifice of monsters leaves one more open to attack… but don't worry. I'll be ruthless to _you._ " She would not let this be in vain. There was another, one that could turn this entire duel around…

Pandora growled. _I threw away my Magician's life to kill you,_ he thought. _But it didn't work! But at least I took out_ her _Dark Magician… and I still have two others in my deck…_ "Enough gawking!" he said. "Let us continue! This is my end phase… I play one facedown card, and that's the end!" He chuckled. "By the way, Yugi, I know you don't have another Dark Magician in your deck, but I have _two_ left to defeat you! The title of master is as good as mine! _And_ I will complete the greatest escape trick of the century!"

"It's not over yet!" said the other Yugi. "Let's go! It's my turn!" She drew a card. _Pandora doesn't have any monsters left,_ she noted. _This is my chance to attack!_ "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts! Attack!" Gazelle had 1500 attack points, and Pandora had 1500 life points. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong. A duel never was that simple, it seemed.

"Trap card! Devil's Scales!" said Pandora. "This trap card is activated when you try to summon a monster! It weighs the number of _my_ monsters against _yours,_ and makes yours equal to mine!"

The other Yugi growled. "And you don't have any monsters…" she said. "In other words, the Devil's Scales will destroy all my monsters!"

"How right you are!" said Pandora. "Let the scales decide!"

Gazelle appeared on one side of the scale, and nothing was in the other.

_The Scale ate my monsters…!_ thought the other Yugi.

Pandora laughed. "Now we _both_ have no monsters on our fields! And right after you summoned! Now allow me!" He drew a card. _Hee hee…_ he thought. _With this trump card, I can't lose!_

_Now that neither of use have monsters, the first person to summon one and keep it on the field will win!_

Pandora chuckled. "You've played right into my grasp… do you know that, Yugi? Because _I_ have a card that can summon a high-level monster in an instant! A card to summon the world's most powerful spellcaster, Dark Magician!"

_He wiped out all the monsters on the field, because he had a special summon card in his hand!_

"Are you ready?" asked Pandora. "I win with this card! Dark Magic Curtain!" A dark curtain on a circular rod appeared, as Pandora's life points were reduced to 750. The curtain opened, revealing Pandora's Dark Magician. He chuckled. "Well, Yugi, who has the perfect Magician deck? Speed of attack, speed of summoning, spell cards… in every way, my deck is superior to yours!" He laughed. "You must admit I am the _true_ master of Magicians, the ultimate archmage! You don't have a single monster on the field. When I give Dark Magician the word, she will strike you down and I will win. Your only hope is those facedown cards. No doubt they're monster-killing trap cards that will be activated by my attack… I don't like them there, so I'm going to get rid of them! Spell Card! Dark Magic Attack!"

A beam wiped out all of the other Yugi's facedown cards.

"Now you have _nothing_ left to stop me! You've lost your last hope!" said Pandora.

"No," said the other Yugi. "There is another." She chuckled. The dark curtain was on her side of the field, too.

_What…?_ thought Pandora.

"That's right…" said the other Yugi. "The effects of Dark Magic Curtain extend across the entire field… in other words, I can use it, too… I'm _also_ summoning a Magician!" The other Yugi's life points were reduced to 350.

"B-but I _know_ your deck!" sputtered Pandora. "You only have _one_ Dark Magician!"

"That's right," said the other Yugi. "I never said I had more than one. But! The Dark Magician has an apprentice who inherited her vast powers…"

_I-I didn't know that…_ thought Pandora.

"Take a look!" exclaimed the other Yugi, pointing at the curtain. "Dark Magician Boy!"

From the curtain emerged a boy with shoulder-length blond hair, wearing a short, sleeveless robe that was blue on the top and pink on the bottom. He had 2000 attack points and 1700 defense points.

"D-Dark Magician B-Boy?!" stammered Pandora. _But he only has 2000 attack points…_ he thought. _My own Dark Magician can_ crush _him!_ "Kill them!" he yelled.

Pandora's Dark Magician attacked the Dark Magician Boy. Pandora had this in the bag. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

The two Magicians clashed, creating a brilliant beam of light.

"I got him!" exclaimed Pandora.

"Did you really?" asked the other Yugi.

_What…?!_ thought Pandora, when the light faded.

Standing on the field was Dark Magician Boy, completely unharmed. In contrast, Dark Magician faded into mist.

_That can't be!_ thought Pandora. _My Dark Magician was vaporized! But why? It had 500 more attack points…_

"I'll tell you why," said the other Yugi. "Dark Magician Boy's attack power raises by 300 for each Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos in the graveyard. The apprentice carries on his master's legacy, and she watches over him!"

"B-but… there was only one Dark Magician card in your graveyard!" said Pandora. "Even with 300 extra attack points, he should've only had 2300! He should have _died_ in that exchange!"

"Take a closer look," said the other Yugi. "If you're a real Magician expert, see the truth with your own eyes!"

Indeed, there had been another. So that would mean…. that would mean…

"M-my Dark Magician helped him?!" cried out Pandora.

"Dark Magician Boy inherits the souls of _all_ dead Magicians, no matter where they are buried… even your so-called 'slave' who you _mindlessly sacrificed!_ Prepare yourself, Pandora! Black Burning!"

With that, Dark Magician Boy attacked Pandora's life points directly, reducing them to zero.

"You weren't even familiar with Duel Monsters at all, were you?" asked the other Yugi.

"Wh-what?!" asked Pandora. "H-how did you…?"

"You mindlessly sacrificed your monsters, Pandora," said the other Yugi. "You weren't thinking ahead. In sacrificing monsters, you left yourself more open to attack by leaving yourself with fewer of them. Furthermore, you didn't even know that the Dark Magician Boy _existed._ Dark Magician Boy is one of the most iconic monsters in all of Duel Monsters. Perhaps you were _given_ that deck, and didn't even bother with _researching other monsters._ That is why you lost!"

Pandora sputtered.

"And you weren't even going to duel long-term, were you?" asked the other Yugi. "You had no issues with damaging your cards. In fact, you probably riffle-shuffled _intentionally_ to disguise the other ways you were marking them! And now, the very device you intended to use in an act of cruelty, will be used on _you._ "

Pandora screamed in panic. "Stop! No!"

The box under the other Yugi's feet opened up, revealing a key and locator card.

"No! It's got me….!" said Pandora. "Not!" He pulled a key from up his sleeve, as the other Yugi unlocked her cuffs. Suddenly, he froze.

_M-Malika…_ thought Pandora. He could feel her presence in his mind.

_Didn't you_ lose _the duel, Pandora?_ asked Malika. _Then you must pay the price…_

"Eeyaa… help me…" said Pandora. "Forgive me… please, Malika!" Suddenly, he realized something. "Wh-what?! Where's the key?! Where'd it go?! It was right here in my hand!"

_I can control your memory…_ said Malika. _I've erased the key from your mind… you can't see it or feel it… as far as you're concerned, it doesn't exist…_

Pandora screamed. Yugi took over. Before the saw could hit his legs, she dashed to the other side, unlocking the cuffs and shoving Pandora to the ground. The saw barely missed.

"N-no game is worth _dying_ for!" said Yugi. "That's just _sick!_ "

"Now why'd you do _that?_ " asked Pandora, standing up. Yugi looked up. "So you're the _other_ Yugi…" he said. "The Yugi of _this_ world… the vessel for _her_ soul."

"Who _are_ you?!" asked Yugi.

"That's right… I haven't introduced myself to the _vessel,_ have I?" asked not-Pandora. "My name is Malika. In controlling this fool Pandora from a distance, I control his mind and all his senses… his sight and hearing… that's how I can see and hear you, and talk to you, too…"

"Why, Malika?!" asked Yugi. "Why do you want to kill us?! Tell me!"

"It doesn't concern you…" said Malika. "But I have business with the soul you contain, and that business is revenge. I am descended from the clan of tomb guardians who have lived in darkness for three thousand years, and I _will_ avenge them.

"In the most remote parts of Egypt, near the tombs of the kings, we tomb guardians have lived apart from the world, hiding in the shadows, passing the task from mother to daughter and father to son, to protect the seven secrets, to protect the lost memories of the Pharaoh, so that one day the Queen will rise again…"

_Memories… seven secrets…_ "Hold on!" said Yugi. "Do you mean the Millennium Items? The seven Items that are supposed to fit into the tablet of the Pharaoh's memories?!"

"I hold one of the seven Items," said Malika. "I must guard it, even if it means my life, until I present it to the Queen's soul… that's what I was taught as a child. The problem is _finding_ the Queen's soul. The only clue is written in the original hieroglyphic text of the Pert em Hru, the Book of the Dead. It says of the Queen, 'You will know her by the three God Cards she wields.

"For countless generations, my family has protected the Millennium Items at the cost of suffering and pain. I will put an _end_ to our curse, but not by welcoming the queen we have waited for. I will kill her a second time and take revenge! I formed the Ghouls to find the three God Cards. I have two of them already. The last one is in this town, in Battle City!"

_Now I know what the other me is seeking and fighting for in this town,_ thought Yugi. _It's her lost memories…_

_I_ will _find all three God Cards!_ thought Malika. _Prepare yourself, Yugi! When I kill you, I will be freed from my family's fate, and the world will be mine!_

_If I don't find the God Cards, then the other me will never get her memories back…_ thought Yugi. _Then she could stay with me forever. But I'm sure she really wants to know who she was and what her fate is… we're both headed towards the future, pushed forward by our memories of the past. But if the other me doesn’t_ know _her past, and can't achieve her fate, she'll be stuck the same way forever, and there's nothing sadder than that. Even if remembering means we have to be separated, there are some things you just have to do!_

"Malika!" she said. "I won't let you kill my partner! We will fight you!"

"Keh…" said Malika. "You are merely a vessel." _When the time comes, you, too, will die!_ "It'll take me a while to get to Domino City. But I don't want you to get _bored_ in the meantime… a Rare Hunter with a God Card is already in town with you, a man with Slifer the Sky Dragon. You'll see him before you expect it. Remember this! Beware the silent doll!" She chuckled.

_Silent doll…?_ wondered the other Yugi.

_All right,_ thought Malika. _I'd better tie up_ this _loose end before I leave… looking through his memories, I see two times when he considered suicide. The first, after the death of his mother, and the second, when he lost his lover in a magic trick gone wrong… keh keh… I'll bring back those sad memories and stir them up a little… the moment he wakes up, he will be assaulted by suicidal impulses and end up killing himself. I'll see you again, Yugi…_

Pandora's body hit the floor.

"Malika!" said Yugi, to no avail. _We won't give up!_ he thought. _We'll get back those memories!_

Meanwhile, out on the ocean, just close enough to see Domino City on the horizon, Malika stood there, arms crossed. _Wait for me, Yugi,_ she thought. _I will bury your soul in darkness, along with your impertinent vessel!_ Behind her was one of her most loyal and most skilled Rare Hunters, one who had been with her since the beginning. The only one she truly trusted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one had drastic dialogue changes! Aside from Dark Magician Boy having Dark Magician Girl's TCG effect rather than the anime/manga effect (300 points per Dark Magician/Magician of Black Chaos rather than 500), the original had Atem talking about how terrible it was that Pandora was tributing a bunch of his monsters... despite tributes being a key game mechanic and Atem tributing monsters too. Hell, the only time the ethics of tributes are brought up again is Season 4... itself being questionably written. It's rather inconsistent, even if the cards themselves having wills of their own or having any kind of special magical properties wasn't a serious stretch of suspension of disbelief. I can accept Duel Monsters spirits existing, even in Season 4, because they themselves don't really affect the outcomes of card games and are more like characters unto themselves rather than cards with magic properties. But things like the heart of the cards being anything other than a figure of speech or Atem's cards turning their backs on him because he's been acting terribly, I can't accept. As such, I'm rewriting dialogue referencing any such thing.
> 
> As such, I had Atem go on about _meaningless,_ unstrategic tributes contributing to Pandora's loss rather than tributes in general being unethical. It makes a lot more sense, especially since Atem has no reason to believe Pandora knows/believes in anything about any of the more mystical aspects of the series.
> 
> I've also (tried to) patch a plot hole about the supposed "master of magicians" not knowing about Dark Magician Girl. Here, dueling is simply a short-term gig for him, and he picked out a deck without doing research on other cards.
> 
> And, yes, I _can_ believe the Dark Magician sacrificing himself for Atem. If Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon are supposed to be incarnations of Mahad, Mana, and Kisara, then I can also believe they can have (albeit limited) wills of their own. This is why I had Blue-Eyes fail to attack both times it did in the manga, even though the second time couldn't be explained by Shadow Game magic.
> 
> I guess the difference here is Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon have a kind of explanation for having "wills of their own," whereas there's no disbelief-suspending explanation for things like Ryou Marufuji's heart being weakened in Season 2/3 by his usage of Cyberdark cards as Hell Kaiser in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
> 
> And yes, I'm aware that the only card who uses their TCG effect is Dark Magician Boy. But I couldn't make the duel work with the other cards having their TCG effects. And really, the primary plot elements I'm concerned with are the ones that don't have to do with the duels themselves. Changing what happens in the duels is a secondary concern, except in particularly glaring cases.


	82. Theft

11:48 AM. Three hours since the tournament began.

"So, did you find them?" asked Ansei. He wore a yellow tank top that bore the word "Spirit," red jeans, and yellow boots that matched the tank top.

"No, they weren't over there either…" said Bakura. She wore a striped white-and-blue shirt, a pale blue short-sleeved overshirt, and even paler blue jeans.

"Same here," said Sugako.

"Alas, nothing," said Tsukiko, who wore a brown tank top and blue jeans with a camouflage jacket. She also wore black thin-rimmed glasses.

"Sheesh…" said Ansei. "Where could they be? Yugi needs to get a cell phone…"

"Domino City's pretty big," said Bakura. "It could take a while to find them…"

"You said it!" said Tsukiko.

"Can I take a little break…?" asked Sugako.

"What kept you so long, anyway, Bakura?" asked Ansei. "We were waiting for you for half an hour!"

"Sorry…" said Bakura. "I stayed up all night writing the next adventure for my Monster World campaign…" Not only was there the actual writing, she also had to do research on Egypt…

"And they tell me Honda's gone on some trip…" said Ansei. "What a jerk!" _Seems like everybody's drifting apart these days…_ he thought.

"Don't worry, Ansei," said Bakura. "No matter where she is, I'm sure Yugi's doing fine! She's the best at this game!"

"I sure hope so…" said Tsukiko. "And I know Hikari's with Jounouchi, but I don't know where either of them are at the moment… last time I called Hikari, she said she was at some restaurant…"

"C'mon, let's go look for them!" said Ansei. Bakura and Tsukiko jogged to keep up with him.

"Hold on…!" said Sugako. "Can't we rest for a minute…?"

"There's people dueling _everywhere!_ " said Tsukiko. "How seriously _does_ everyone take Duel Monsters?"

"Very," said Ansei. "Sometimes a little too much."

"Man!" said Tsukiko. "And I thought everyone was bad about football in America… at least _this_ is interesting!"

Suddenly, Bakura spotted something. "What's with that crowd…?" she asked. The others took notice.

"This guy's been standing in this same spot since yesterday!" said a man.

"He hasn't eaten or drank the whole time…" said a woman. "That's gotta be a record!"

"I wonder what it is…" said Bakura.

"Me too!" said Tsukiko.

The four saw a rather odd sight. A completely hairless man, without so much as _eyelashes_ , bearing piercings on his face and rather frumpy clothes, was standing completely still, not even _blinking._

Bakura beamed. "A mime!" she exclaimed. Tsukiko followed, out of a semi-morbid curiosity at the creepy site.

"Wow!" said Ansei. "He's been in that pose for a whole day?"

"I wonder what he's thinking," said Bakura.

"Or how he does it," added Tsukiko.

"Offhand, I'd say he's using the 'trapped in a box' routine!" said Sugako. "It's like he's in an invisible glass case!"

Curious, Bakura walked up to the mime, waving her hand in front of his face. He didn't respond. "'Scuse me…" she said. "Boo!" she exclaimed, to see if he would react. He didn't. _I don't feel any life from him,_ she thought. Indeed, his temperature seemed rather cold… _He's like a doll…_

"Come on, you guys!" said Ansei. "He's not a duelist! Let's go!"

"Oh… okay…" said Bakura, sounding rather disappointed.

"Cheer up!" said Tsukiko, grinning. "I'm sure there's plenty of other spooky stuff we can find!"

"It's already noon!" said Sugako. "I'm starting to get hungry… Ansei, don't you want to get lunch?"

Suddenly, Ansei spotted something, or rather, some _one._ "I found Jounouchi!" He pointed to a restaurant.

"Ah, Beef Buster! _That's_ what it was called!" said Tsukiko.

With that, the four walked to that restaurant.

"Extra sauce! Extra large! Here you go!" said the waiter.

"All right! You rule!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "This looks so good!" She dug right in. Hikari sat to her right, having finished her own meal. Jounouchi wore a white t-shirt with light blue sleeves that bore a rectangle on it, along with blue jeans.

"Huh… are you one of those 'duelists' playing cards around town?" asked the waiter.

"You bet I am!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "You can't duel well if you're hungry! Even a warrior needs a break!" She laughed.

"Then good luck!" said the waiter. "Eat our beef with our blessings! Here! Have some pickles on the house!"

"Aw, man, you're the best!" said Jounouchi. As she ate, her Duel Disk poked into a man to her left.

"H-hey!" said the man. "Take that _thing_ off your arm! It's in the way!" _Kids these days…_ he thought.

"Huh?" asked Jounouchi. "All right, sorry, man." She didn't want to cause a scene.

Unfortunately, a kid happened to be passing by. After Jounouchi took off her Duel Disk, the kid swiped it.

"That punk…!" said Jounouchi. "Stop, you thief!"

She was about to leave when the waiter protested, "Hey! You haven't paid yet!"

"Shit…" muttered Jounouchi, as she set a five-hundred-yen piece on the counter. It would be more than enough to pay. She and Hikari then ran to catch up with the kid. "Come back here!"

Ansei and his group spotted them. "Jounouchi! Hikari!" he said.

Jounouchi eventually caught up, grabbing the kid by his collar. "Give it up, you little jerk!" she said.

"I'm sorry, I'll never do it again…" said the kid. "Please don't hurt me…!"

"Why'd you steal my Duel Disk, anyway?" asked Jounouchi.

"I was _mad!_ " said the kid. "I was in the tournament today, too… but for my first duel I fought this girl who was really tough, and I lost. She took my Duel Disk and all my cards!"

_What the heck?!_ thought Jounouchi.

"So you wanted to challenge her to another duel using Jounouchi's Duel Disk…?" asked Ansei.

The kid nodded. "Y-yeah! I was going to give it back, once I won back my own Disk… I'm really sorry…"

_This boy is a tournament-ranked duelist…?_ thought Sugako. _Hmm…_ Something seemed fishy.

"Man, that'd never work!" said Jounouchi.

"You don't even know what kind of strategy her deck has," said Hikari. "You probably would have lost even if you _did_ use her deck!"

"But don't worry," said Jounouchi. "Your problems are over, 'cause I'll fight this chick!"

"Jounouchi, are you sure?" asked Ansei.

"Why don't you see how strong this person is before you fight her?" asked Bakura.

"Doesn't matter!" said Jounouchi. "I hate people who steal cards from weaker duelists!"

"Th-then you'll beat her for me?" asked the kid.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "I'll _waste_ her!"

"Then wait here!" said the kid. "I'll go get her!" With that, he ran off.

"Hmm…" said Sugako. "That boy didn't take any of your cards, did he? Maybe you should check your deck…"

"Huh? What do you mean, granny?" asked Jounouchi. "Are you saying he tricked me?"

"N-no… I can't say for sure…" said Sugako. "But just in case…"

"Man, everybody's so paranoid nowadays…" said Jounouchi. "C'mon guys! You gotta have faith in people!"

"Jounouchi…" said Bakura.

"If you can't trust people, how can you trust anything?" asked Jounouchi. "I have faith in my future. I have faith I'm gonna keep winning duels in Battle City until I'm at the same place as Yugi, and then I'm gonna duel her! Whether I win or lose, I'll know that I can hold my head up high and call myself a duelist! If I can carve out that future for myself, I feel like I can show _him_ a future too…"

"You mean your brother Shizu?" asked Ansei. "How is he, anyway? Has he recovered from his eye surgery?"

"He still can't see…" she said.

The others gaped.

"But you said the operation was a success!" said Ansei.

"Yeah…" said Jounouchi. "There weren't any complications or anything… he's resting at a hospital near my father's house… but he doesn't have the courage to take off the bandages…"

_Jounouchi entered Battle City for her brother…_ thought Ansei.

"If I can win this tournament, I'm gonna go see Shizu and show him the face of a _woman_ who's won her future!" said Jounouchi.

"All right!" said Hikari.

"Oh, say, I've only told you all and Honda about this…" said Jounouchi. "Could you guys not tell Yugi until our duel's over…?"

"Okay," said Ansei.

"By the way, where _is_ Honda?" asked Jounouchi. "Why isn't she here?"

"I don't know," said Ansei. "She was supposed to come, but she went on some trip."

Meanwhile, in a distant alley…

"That dirty rat!" said the kid. "I followed her for an hour, but she just wouldn't take off her Duel Disk…"

"So you did what I asked you to?" asked Haga.

"Yep!" said the kid. "When I stole her Disk, I slipped in two of your cards into her deck! That moron _totally_ fell for it! It was _easy!_ "

Haga laughed. _Now Jounouchi is as good as dead!_ she thought. _My parasites will destroy her deck from within!_

"Um, excuse me, Haga…" said the kid. "Could you give me that rare card like you promised?"

"That's right…" said Haga. "Here you go! A rare card!"

"Wow! Thanks!" said the kid. He looked at the card. His eyes widened. "H-hey! Wait! This is Pillroach!" he protested. "I already have one of these! It's just a common card!"

"Hmph…" said Haga. "Then eat this!" She sprayed insecticide in the kid's face. The kid yelled in pain.

"Agggh! My eyes…!" said the kid.

"You said Jounouchi was waiting at the square, right?" asked Haga. She laughed. _First I'll beat Jounouchi!_ she thought. _Then when she hears her friend was beaten, Yugi will hunt me down, and I'll crush her! I'll repay her_ twofold _for the humiliation she dealt me in Duelist Kingdom with my new and improved insect deck!_

Meanwhile, near a train station…

"Aww man…!" complained Honda. "It's further out in the sticks than I thought…" She was wearing a black blazer and jeans with a white t-shirt.

"Seems like we can still make it back before dark, though," said Otogi.

"For somebody who just _happened_ to be going the same direction as me, you sure have followed me a long way…" said Honda.

"Hmph," said Otogi. "So I heard about Jounouchi's sister, all right? I just owe you guys a favor, that's all…"

"Come on, let's get going!" said Honda. "No time for excuses!"

"Um…"

"Map, map…" murmured Honda, searching her bag for the map of Domino City. Once she found it, she made her way to Yonezato Hospital.

"Someone's here to see you, Shizufumi," said the nurse.

Shizu lifted his head, tilting it in the direction he understood the door to be. "Dad…?!" he asked.

"You must be Shizu…" said Honda.

Shizu was briefly silent. "Yes…?" he said.

"Your sister's in the middle of a fight," explained Honda. "She says she wants to show you the _future!_ Come on, let's go meet her!"

_Katsuki…!_ thought Shizu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say, beyond the inclusion of Tsukiko and Hikari. And a bit of foreshadowing of the Memory World arc. The actual manga _has_ Bakura mentioning writing a campaign for a tabletop RPG, I just decided to connect it with the Memory World arc a bit more.
> 
> And the glasses bit for Tsukiko... I meant for her to wear glasses from the beginning. Unfortunately, I forgot to describe them when she first showed up. Rather than go back and change such a minute detail that would barely come up again, I decided to describe them now. At least with Jounouchi's first name, that one comes up repeatedly. But the glasses would likely only come up in character descriptions.


	83. Infestation

"Shizu, there's a card game tournament going on back in your old neighborhood in Domino City," explained Honda. "Your sister is there right now. She's fighting for you!"

_Katsuki… you're fighting for me…?_ wondered Shizu.

"Hold on, Honda," said Otogi. "Explain this to me. What do you mean? When you win a game, you get a sense of accomplishment, yeah, and I understand how _Jounouchi_ might feel stronger, but how does that help her _brother?_ If Shizu's going to learn to be brave, he has to do it by _himself._ Am I wrong?"

"Otogi, you just don't understand!" said Honda, slightly exasperated. "Sometimes people have to help each other out! And you _can_ get courage from other people! Sometimes, it's the only way!"

Otogi was silent. She crossed her arms. "Hmph… that's what I came here to find out…"

"No, Honda… Otogi is right…" said Shizu. "Only I can make the choice to be brave… but, I'm scared… I'm scared the bandages will come off, and I won't be able to see anything, not even my sister's face… when I think about that, I just…"

Honda and Otogi were silent. "H-hey, Shizu, here!" said Honda, desperately changing the subject. "I didn't know if you had a change of clothes, so I brought some of my brother's hand-me-downs! I don't know if they'll even fit you, but…"

Shizu was surprised. Few people outside her father and her sister had shown that level of kindness. He smiled. "Katsuki said she left some clothes at a friend's place."

"Then let's go see your sister!" said Honda. "You don't need to take your bandages off if you don't want to. We'll be your eyes during this trip! But first, I just want to tell you one thing. I said Jounouchi's fighting for _you,_ but if you're there with him, you can give him courage too!"

Shizu gaped. Seeing his sister again would be fantastic.

"C'mon, let's go," said Otogi.

"I want to go see Katsuki!" said Shizu.

"We don't have much time 'til the next train!" said Honda.

"Nurse, can he get his clothes?" asked Otogi.

"C'mon, Shizu!" said Honda, smiling.

Shizu nodded. _Wait for us, Katsuki!  
_

Meanwhile, back at the plaza…

"We meet again, Jounouchi!" said Haga. She had made her way to the plaza where that kid said Jounouchi was.

_Insector Haga!_ thought Jounouchi. _The former all-Japan Duel Monsters champion!_

"Let's do this!" said Haga. "Long time, no see, Jounouchi! It's been a while since Duelist Kingdom!"

_Yugi might have beaten this weirdo on Pegasus' island,_ thought Jounouchi, _but I can't deny that she used to be the champion of Japan…_

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei. "Don't give this jerk the honor of fighting her! She nearly threw Yugi's Exodia cards into the ocean!"

"Lemme guess, there's only one reason you could be here, and it's not to catch flies," said Jounouchi. "Isn't that right, you bug freak?"

"You're smarter than you look!" said Haga. "Let's duel right here, right now!"

"Jounouchi, are you going to fight her?" asked Bakura.

"You bet I am!" said Jounouchi. "It's karma! She's the same girl who stole that kid's cards! I'll straighten out her attitude with a beat-down!"

_Hyuck hyuck, what an idiot,_ thought Haga. _She actually fell for that sob story? She doesn't know that the kid was working for me! I've already put one of my own cards in your deck!_ The card in question was Parasite Paracide, a monster with a pathetic 500 attack and 300 defense, but which had an effect that would turn the duel in her favor.

"Let's go, Haga!" said Jounouchi.

"She's gotta be up to something!" said Ansei. "Be careful, Jounouchi! Her laughter sounds suspicious!"

"A true duelist doesn't run away from _anybody!_ " said Jounouchi. "Only cowards run away!"

"Okay! Let's do a double wager! Two puzzle cards and one rare card!"

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. The two shuffled each other's decks and assumed their positions.

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 4000 life points. They drew their opening hands.

"Jounouchi! Don't let down your guard!" said Ansei.

_Haga's sure to be using an insect deck, but even knowing that, there's_ hundreds _of different strategies she could use!_ thought Sugako.

Tsukiko watched the duel stoically. Hikari was considerably more relaxed.

"I summon Panther Warrior!" said Jounouchi. At 2000 attack points and 1600 defense points, it was a tough monster for a level 4 monster.

Haga chuckled, drawing a card. "I'll play one face-down card, and summon Skull-Mark Ladybug in defense mode!" Skull-Mark Ladybug had 500 attack points and 1500 defense points.

"You call that a monster?!" said Jounouchi. "What a wimp!"

_Hyuk hyuk… talk while you can!_ thought Haga. _Once my insect deck is through with you, you'll have to boast through six feet of earth!_

"Here I go!" said Jounouchi. "I'm playing another monster card, Little Winguard!" It had 1400 attack points and 1800 defense points.

_She has two level-four monsters,_ thought Haga. _She must be planning on summoning a high-level monster on her next turn…_

"Battle Phase! Attack, Panther Warrior!" said Jounouchi. "The Skull-Mark Ladybug goes down!"

"Good move, Jounouchi!" exclaimed Ansei.

"You got her!" said Bakura.

"I'm a bit suspicious…" said Tsukiko. "Isn't the Ladybug an effect monster?"

"Indeed!" said Sugako. "Insector Haga _let_ Jounouchi defeat the Ladybug so she could use its special ability to increase her life points!"

Haga laughed as her life points increased to 4500. "That gave me 500 life points! Thanks, Jounouchi!"

Hikari's eyes widened.

"That gave her _more_ life?!" growled Jounouchi. _Argh! I shoulda asked about the Ladybug's effect…!_

_Level-four insect cards don't have high attack points, but many of them possess powerful abilities and work well in combos…_ thought Sugako.

"Now take this! Pinch Hopper! Defense mode!" said Haga. Pinch Hopper had 1000 attack points and 1200 defense points, and allowed the user to special summon an insect monster from their hand if it was sent to the graveyard. "Go ahead and attack me, Jounouchi!"

_Even if she beats Pinch Hopper, Haga will instantly get a replacement insect!_ thought Sugako.

"Crud!" said Jounouchi. _What a pest! But if I sacrifice my two monsters on this turn, I can summon a high-level monster! I have Jinzo, a level-seven monster that I won from that ESP chick! If I play it, I'll be immune to her trap cards! And plus, it's got really high attack points!_ "My turn!" she said. She drew a card. _Huh…?!_ The card she drew was… Parasite Paracide? _What_ is _this card?!_ she thought, panicking. This was _not_ originally in her deck! What was it doing in her deck?

_Hyuk hyuk!_ thought Haga, grinning maniacally. _Looks like she drew my lucky card! The moment you draw Parasite Paracide, you're forced to play it, and your monsters will become its hosts!_

When the card was played, vines emerged from Jounouchi's monsters' mouths, and arachnid creatures latched onto their backs.

"M-my monsters have tentacles and stuff coming out of them!" said Jounouchi, eye twitching.

"Yuk yuk…" said Haga. "As long as I have a Parasite card, every monster you play will be infected by flesh-eating worms!"

"I don't get it!" said Bakura. "Why would Jounouchi put a card like that in her deck?" Traditionally "gross" cards like this were not her usual forte.

"That's _not_ Jounouchi's card!" said Ansei. "Do you think she'd throw in a random bug card?"

Tsukiko looked like she was going to be sick. "Wh-what kind of sick, twisted person _animated_ this card effect?! Could they have made it _any_ more disgusting?!" _Who knew Duel Monsters cards could be so nauseating?_ she thought.

_I knew it!_ thought Sugako. _That boy from before…!_

"Haga, you creep!" said Jounouchi. "Did _you_ do that to my deck?"

"You realized too late!" said Haga. "A truly brilliant strategist starts her strategy _before_ the battle."

"That's not strategy!" yelled Hikari. "That's _cheating!_ A great strategy should be able to stand on its own, _without_ changing the opponent's deck!"

"You know what they say," said Haga. "In Duel Monsters, it's either win or – "

"Shut up!" said Jounouchi. "Shut it with that 'win or die' nonsense!"

"How about you talk _after_ I win the duel?" asked Haga. "After all, there's no way you can win! The Parasite monsters on your side of the field are considered insects, which my deck has ultimate power over! I can make them do what I want!"

Jounouchi growled.

"That little _shit!_ " said Tsukiko. She had never been more tempted to strangle a person.

_D-don't tell me…!_ thought Sugako. _Could Haga possibly have that legendary rare card? The card that increases its attack points based on the number of insect cards in play?_

_Yuk yuk yuk…_ thought Haga. _Prepare for my insect combo of doom!_

"I'll sacrifice these two monsters on this turn!" said Jounouchi. "Prepare to die! Meet Jinzo!" Except… the monsters weren't disappearing?

"Tough luck!" said Haga. "You can't sacrifice an infected monster! In other words, as long as my Parasite card remains active, you can't summon a high-level monster!"

Jounouchi's eye twitched. _What…?!_

Haga sighed. "You can at least attack, you know…"

Jounouchi growled. "You asked for it…! Panther Warrior! Attack!"

"Jounouchi! No!" said Hikari. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Tough luck again!" said Haga. "I reveal my facedown card, Insect Barrier!" A shield formed around Haga's monsters, deflecting Panther Warrior's attack. "Now do you get it? Parasitic insects constitute more than fifty percent of your monsters' body mass! So whatever affects insects, affects _them!_ As long as I have the Insect Barrier, they can't hit me! And oh, look! It's permanent!" She laughed.

Tsukiko wanted to punch that shit-eating grin off her face. Smug little brat.

_Rrg…_ thought Jounouchi. _I can't attack her… what do I do?_ "All right, it's your turn, you freaky bug chick!"

"Hyuck… don't you _ever_ give up?" asked Haga. "In that case, I play a spell card, Insecticide! This card will kill any insect, no matter how powerful… but don't worry, Jounouchi, I won't destroy one of _your_ monsters. When Pinch Hopper is in the graveyard, I get to Special Summon one insect card from my hand…"

_You mean…_

"That's right," said Haga. "I'm going to destroy _that_ card! Pinch Hopper goes to the graveyard! And I get to play the highest-level insect monster in my hand! And that card is this! Insect Queen!" This monster, boasting a 2200 attack points and 2400 defense points, was another arachnid monster, with an elongated neck and a creepily humanoid face. "She increases her attack points by the number of insects on the field! And that includes _your_ infested monsters! I have three cards out, and all of them are insect monsters, so that means she has 3400 attack points!"

"What…?" asked Jounouchi.

_So_ that's _why Haga made all of Jounouchi's monsters insects!_ thought Tsukiko. _It wasn't_ just _to gross everyone out!_ Though she suspected _that_ might have been a factor, as well.

"Now, my Queen, attack!" said Haga. "Queen's Hell Breath!" She attacked Little Winguard, leaving Jounouchi with 2000 life points.

Hikari was wide-eyed. Was Jounouchi going to be eliminated so soon…?

"In addition, the Queen lays an egg for every monsters she defeats!" said Haga. "And a new insect monster will be born!"

A large insect egg dropped from Insect Queen's ovipositor onto the ground. It hatched into an Insect Larva, with 1200 attack points and 0 defense points.

"Ugh, you just keep making this duel grosser and grosser…" said Tsukiko, who _seriously_ wished she had a barf bag.

"It doesn't have any defense, or much offense, but it makes a fine soldier for the Queen!" said Haga. "I'll fill up the field with these little cuties!"

_Shit!_ thought Jounouchi. _If she gets any more insects, I won't have a chance…_ "My turn!" she said. She drew a card. _What am I thinking? Even if I play a new monster, it'll just turn into an insect and make the Queen stronger! Thankfully, I don't_ have _to attack…_ "I'll play one facedown card! I end my turn!"

"No! Wait!" said Sugako. "You forgot to switch your monsters to defense mode!"

Jounouchi saw an opportunity. "Oh no!" she said.

"Too late!" said Haga. "You already said you end your turn! All your monsters are in attack mode! No callbacks!"

"Oh, crap!" said Jounouchi, though her thoughts were closer to _Hell yeah!_

"As duelists go, you're just like one of my just-hatched baby worms!" said Haga. She laughed. "Are you ready, Jounouchi?" _First I'll have the Queen destroy Panther Warrior for 1400 damage, then I'll destroy Paracide with Insect Larva for 700 more damage, and Jounouchi will lose!_ "Queen of Arthropods! Slaughter the Panther Warrior!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"Haga! I guessed right!" said Jounouchi.

"What?!" asked Haga. Tsukiko and Hikari grinned.

"I knew you wouldn't attack Paracide until the end 'cause it used to belong to you! So I set a trap on Panther Warrior!"

"Y-you left them in attack mode on purpose… to lure me into your trap!" said Haga, face going pale.

"You got it!" said Jounouchi, grinning. "I activate my trap card, Magic Arm Shield!" This trap card activated when the opponent declared an attack, and switched the targeted monster with one of the opponent's monsters. The monster Jounouchi chose? Insect Larva.

"Y-you took my Insect Larva!" said Haga. "Th-the Queen is attacking her own young! The Insect Larva is destroyed!"

Haga screamed as her life points dropped to 2300.

"Mind if I use one of your bad-guy lines?" asked Jounouchi. "Been wanting to say it."

"Huh?" asked Haga.

"Admit it, you're weak!" said Jounouchi.

Haga gulped.

"I wouldn't be so quick to declare you've won…" said Tsukiko.

"She's right!" said Haga. "After all, I still have the Queen! The terror has just begun!"

"How is she going to beat the Insect Queen…?" murmured Bakura.

"The only way I could see it is if Jounouchi could somehow bring back her opponent's spell cards…" whispered Hikari.

"I've seen cards that can do that…" Tsukiko whispered back. "Can't remember them right off the bat, though…"

"You ready? It's my turn!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. _Even if I summon another monster, it'll just be turned into an insect by Parasite Paracide and strengthen the Queen… plus, my monsters can't even_ attack _as long as Insect Barrier is up… what can I do…?_

Haga laughed. "Jounouchi, your deck consists of warriors and beast-warriors, doesn't it? My parasites can feed off almost any humanoid or animal! They'll crawl into any card you play!"

_No!_ thought Sugako. _There's at least_ one _warrior card that can't be infected! But is that card in Jounouchi's deck…?_

_Shit… oh man…_ thought Jounouchi. "I put all my monsters in defense mode and end my turn!" she said.

Haga chuckled. "That's right! There's nothing you can do! My turn!" She drew a card. "I summon Ari, the Soldier Ant!" The Ant had 500 attack points and 1200 defense points.

_Crap! She's gonna summon more bugs to increase the Insect Queen's attack power!_ thought Jounouchi.

"Attack, your chitinous majesty!" said Haga. "Queen's Hell Breath! The Panther Warrior dies!" Indeed, with the Queen's increased 3400 attack points, it was a good thing Jounouchi set all her monsters in defense mode.

_That rotten Haga…_ thought Jounouchi. _She's not attacking Parasite Paracide… she's going to keep it on the field for the whole game, so my monsters are_ always _insects!_

Insect Queen laid another egg, producing another Insect Larva.

_The Queen's getting stronger and stronger!_ thought Jounouchi. _What do I do? I can't use Magic Arm Shield anymore! On Haga's next turn I'll lose for sure!_

"Now I've got you, Jounouchi!" said Haga. "Make your last turn good!" She laughed. Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong. Again.

_I can't lose!_ thought Jounouchi. _I won't let my future be stopped by this hideous monster! I will find a way!_ She drew a card. Her eyes widened in surprise. _This warrior card…_ It could get her out of this situation.

"Tough luck!" said Haga. "Any monster you summon will become an insect! And as long as I have Insect Barrier, you can't do a thing! There's no way you can win, Jounouchi!"

"No…" said Jounouchi. "You never know, Haga…"

"What…?" asked Haga.

"Y'see, I found a weakness in your insect combo!"

Haga's eyes widened. _What?!_

"You know what they say!" said Hikari. "It's always darkest before dawn!"

"I play a facedown card on the field!" said Jounouchi. "And now, I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!" An animated suit of armor, Gearfried had 1800 attack points and 1600 defense points.

"You fool!" said Haga. "Your warrior is just food for worms!" The Parasite card tried to invade Gearfried's body… except it wasn't able to do anything? Indeed, the armor seemed to effortlessly deflect the vine.

"Gearfried is an _iron_ knight!" said Jounouchi. "Like a robot! Not even a parasite can live inside a chunk of iron!" The card had the effect of destroying any card that would equip to it.

Tsukiko grinned. "You go, Jounouchi!"

"And since Gearfried's not a bug, he can break through your insect barrier! Go, Gearfried! Attack the larva!" This knocked Haga's life points down to 1700.

"Heh! How's that?"

"You stupid little…" _Sh-she went after the larva…_

"Jounouchi turned the tables!" said Ansei.

"No…" said Bakura. "If she can't avoid the next attack, she'll still lose!"

_Jounouchi has figured out the insect combo's greatest weakness…_ thought Sugako. _It lies directly in Insect Queen's ability to lay eggs! The larvae are born in attack mode, and cannot defend! Since they only have 1200 attack points, she can kill them and wear Haga down bit by bit! To prevent that, Haga changed Jounouchi's monsters to bugs and put up that bug barrier!_

"Jounouchi, are you prepared to pay the price for angering the Queen?" asked Haga, growling in frustration. "I will now show you my insect deck's deadliest move, the Queen Impact! Soldier Ari enters attack mode, and I activate the spell card, Multiplication of Ants! Now I have ten army ants! Do you understand what this means, Jounouchi? The Queen's attack points are now 6600! Kill her, my Queen!" Nothing could possibly go wrong _this_ time, right?!

Things _still_ went wrong!

"Like you yourself said!" said Jounouchi. "You fool! I activate my trap card, Graverobber!"

_A trap?!_ thought Haga, panicking. Graverobber allowed the user to use one card from the opponent's graveyard that turn… and Haga had Insecticide in her graveyard… which meant…!

"I just can't stand bugs… so take this! Insecticide!" said Jounouchi. "Your Queen is dead!"

"N-n-no! Not my Queen!" said Haga.

"The game's over, you bug freak!" said Jounouchi. "Gearfried, get her!"

With that, Haga had 0 life points.

"She did it!" exclaimed Ansei.

"Holy crap, that was amazing!" said Tsukiko.

"Jounouchi won!" said Bakura.

_Hmm!_ thought Sugako. _Jounouchi has become a fine duelist! Yugi, you better watch out! Ho ho…!_

"H-how can this be…? You're supposed to be an amateur duelist…!" said Haga.

"Let me tell you something…" said Jounouchi. "It's not that I'm strong… you're just too weak! You wimp!"

Tsukiko noted that that was probably the humblest way to insult a person ever.

Now, Jounouchi had four puzzle cards and the rare card Insect Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say! Not sure if/how much I changed the duel!
> 
> Fun fact! Tsukiko's reaction to the card effect visuals is based on my own when I watched the anime version of this duel! It kind of reminded me of when I watched InuYasha when I was younger. That series had some _seriously_ gross visuals at times! It was great!
> 
> And yeah, altered dialogue to reflect the different continuity in this duel! I've had to do that a few times.
> 
> And here is a pretty general change coming up ahead. There are times when scenes cut between each other, including duels and non-duel scenes. As such, I changed up the order of the scenes so that none of them interrupt each other. This, I think, is good for the non-duel scenes, but _especially_ the duels, since I think having the duels uninterrupted works better for a serial, text-based medium. Which is also why I took a page out of the Abridged Series' book and had all duels take up a single chapter each, rather than splitting them between multiple chapters like the anime and manga are guilty of. It's not quite as bad for the manga, where multiple chapters are in each volume, so it doesn't feel quite so much like the duels are getting interrupted (unless you were a Shonen Jump reader back when this was being published, which are days _long_ gone), but it's more egregious with the anime, especially the final duels of each arc.


	84. Silent Doll

_Where is Malika now?_ wondered the other Yugi. _What is the "doll" she mentioned?_

Meanwhile, at KaibaCorp…

"Data is set!" said the computer. "Longitude and latitude is set! Retrieving image data from satellite! Domino City, west block 'D'… two duelists detected! Checking Duel Disk registration number… searching decks…"

"No luck!" grumbled a dark-haired technician. "The God Card isn't in their decks, either!" This was a goddamn wild goose chase. If this job didn't pay so well, he'd be looking for another employer.

"Scan for another Duel Disk frequency!" said an older technician. "Figure out the next coordinates!"

Suddenly, a nearby screen blared to life, showing Kaiba's face. "Ms. Kaiba!" he said.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" asked Kaiba. "One of the Rare Hunters must have the God Cards. Where are they?"

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. "The duelists have spread all over town. The search will take some time…"

"The Ghouls are hiding somewhere in Domino City!" said Kaiba. "They'll eventually sniff out my own God Card and attack me, but I won't let them make the first move. I'm coming for them first! Contact me as soon as you find them! Got that?"

"Yes ma'am!" said the technician.

Meanwhile, out in the city…

"Still haven't caught the rats, huh, sis?" asked Mokuno.

"Hmph…" murmured Kaiba. "With Kaiba Corporation's technology, it's only a matter of time before we find them. Our game network telecommunications satellite is equipped with the same ground surveillance system as the U.S. military!"

"Heh heh!" said Mokuno. "They'll never guess we have a net spread across the whole sky!"

"Mheh heh…" said Kaiba. "This entire tournament is a trap, and I set it just for them!" She _would_ find the God Cards, even if she had to pull them from the Rare Hunters' cold, dead fingers! "Let's go, Mokuno!" She walked off, Mokuno following.

1:07 PM. Port Othello. Eighty kilometers east of Domino City.

"Malika. We've been waiting," said a Rare Hunter.

"Is everything ready?" asked Malika.

"Yes ma'am!" said the Rare Hunter.

"This is your Duel Disk," said a second Rare Hunter. He handed it to Malika.

"Hmm…" she said. "I thought it'd weigh more…" She had to hand it to Kaiba Corporation. Whoever designed this device knew what they were doing, making a device both lightweight and capable of holographic technology. Unfortunately for them, the fake cards the Rare Hunters used had been easy enough to make, what with the stolen data chips from the factories that printed the cards. The two of them began to approach the garage-style door leading out of the metal building. A motorcycle stood there.

"But, ma'am…" said the Rare Hunter. "I'm surprised that you felt the need to come here personally. Your most skilled Rare Hunters are already in town awaiting your orders…"

"You don't have to tell _me_ that," said Malika. "Tell this deck with a God Card in it!" She chuckled. She mounted her motorcycle. "Besides, I've been sitting on the sidelines so long I'm beginning to forget I'm a duelist myself!" She started the engine.

"Domino City is about an hour from here," said the Rare Hunter.

"Then I'll get there in forty minutes," said Malika. "What's Yugi's current location?"

"She's going west along 'E' block," said the Rare Hunter.

"I don't want to bore her any longer," she said. "I'll fight her before I even _get_ to the city…"

"You're going to use the doll?!" asked the Rare Hunter. The pantomimer, or "Strings," as he was nicknamed, was creepy, even for the Rare Hunters. He was so thoroughly brainwashed he resembled a puppet more than a man, and he didn't even seem to remember having any other name or even a _life_ before the Rare Hunters.

"Yes," said Malika. "That's why I've had him waiting in the middle of town for the past two days. Now I'll inhabit it and fight Yugi!" She chuckled. She started driving her motorcycle, off to Domino City. _Yugi… the time has come… the Millennium Battle is about to begin!_

Meanwhile, in Domino Park, an unsettling figure with many piercings on his face was standing on a bench. He wore a raggedy t-shirt, baggy jeans, suspenders, a backpack, studded wrist cuffs, an equally studded collar, and wore neither socks nor shoes. He had no hair anywhere on his body, not even so much as eyebrows or eyelashes, and wore thick eyeliner that only emphasized his glassy, inhuman eyes. His hands were up, as if to imitate the standard pantomime "trapped in a box" routine.

"I can't believe this mime's been standing here for _two days!_ " said a bystander. Indeed, if he had moved so much as a centimeter, nobody had noticed.

The mime heard Malika's voice in his head. _Now, move!_ Suddenly, in a swift motion, he removed his backpack, taking out a Duel Disk and putting it on his arm. He ignored the frightened reactions of the crowd to his stiff, unnatural motions, consisting only of the necessary movements to do what he was ordered to do. He suddenly turned his head to the right. _Run!_ ordered Malika. _Run to Yugi!_ His running was also inhuman, arms bent at ninety-degree angles, hands stiffly extended outward, widening his running stride as far as he could, running at an unnaturally fast pace.

Meanwhile, under a bridge in Domino City…

"I just don't understand…" said Yugi. "What did she mean by 'doll'?"

_If our enemies are still in hiding,_ said the other Yugi, _we'll just have to wait for them to come out!_

_I can't just wait!_ protested Yugi. _The Ghouls want to kill you! They could be plotting something horrible as we speak! You're trying to get back something important to you! I can't let them stop you!_

_Partner…_ said the other Yugi.

_I know what you're trying to find here in Battle City,_ said Yugi.

The other Yugi was silent.

_It's your memories, isn't it?_ asked Yugi.

The other Yugi looked straight ahead, trying not to let Yugi know she had hit the nail right on the head. Alas, they occupied the same body, and could read each other's thoughts.

_I knew from the start,_ explained Yugi. _Why would you enter a tournament_ just _to win rare cards? It's not like you! Instead, you were after something really important! But don't worry! I'll help you! Let's fight together! Because getting back your memory is_ my _duty, too!_

_Your duty…?_ asked the other Yugi.

_It took me years to complete the Millennium Puzzle,_ explained Yugi. _That's how I got to meet you. You gave me courage when I was weak and didn't have any friends… "I wish for friends... Friends I can count on! Friends who can count on me! No matter what!" And now I have lots of friends! You made my wish come true…_

_You made_ that _come true on your own,_ said the other Yugi.

_Part of me wants you to stay inside my heart forever, like we are now… but maybe that's just because I'm too dependent on you. Maybe I've been trapping you inside me, using your strength to protect me and my friends… but I can't make you protect me forever! So now it's_ my _turn to make_ your _wish come true! I'll help you get back your memories! No matter what!_

The other Yugi smiled. _Thank you, partner!_ she said. Suddenly, she noticed something. Yugi turned to see what it was.

"Who _are_ you…?!" asked Yugi. But the pierced, hairless man said nothing, only holding up his arm to show an activated Duel Disk.

_A Rare Hunter…!_ thought Yugi. A wdjat formed on the man's forehead.

"That's right, Yugi…" said Malika via the man. "This is my doll, the doll who will fight you in my stead, with Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

"Malika!" said Yugi.

"This is the final round of a battle that has lasted from the day I was freed!" said Malika. "Will the vessel please stay out of it?"

Yugi turned towards her other self with widened eyes.

_This is fate,_ said the other Yugi. _I can't avoid it…_

_Look out!_ said Yugi. _She has a God Card! Slifer the Sky Dragon!_

_Then I will defeat a god!_ said the other Yugi. "Your doll's seen better days, Malika," she said out loud. "Not the most dignified bearer for a God Card."

"This mime went mad years ago when he killed his parents," explained Malika. "Out of guilt, he locked his conscious away. He doesn't have a shred of emotion left, an empty vessel, so to speak! But for me, there is no better weapon."

"You use your Millennium Item to brainwash people," said the other Yugi. "I won't let you get away with it!"

"The human mind is even more fragile than the body," said Malika. "People are influenced by what they see or read. Out of that, people can create an entire split personality. Others even think they hear 'God.' When my overwhelming charisma and dominance combines with a person's internal image of 'God,' it's easy to control _anyone!_ That's the power of the Millennium Rod! My mind utterly dominates them. Their thoughts, their senses, even their memories! If I win this duel, this doll will kill you. No matter where you run, this doll will pursue you until you die. It won't stop until it catches you." She chuckled.

"You can catch me, but can you _beat_ me?" asked the other Yugi.

"Of course I can, Yugi!" said Malika. "I'll kill you, and then I'll go after Kaiba and take her God Card! After that, I will be freed from the curse of three thousand years!"

_I cannot lose!_ thought the other Yugi. _I'll win to regain my lost memories!_

With that, the two shuffled their decks to begin the duel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say, beyond yet another instance of combining the dub and sub names of yet another minor antagonist! Funny how the dub gave a few minor antagonists better names than the original Japanese version!
> 
> And data chips existing in Duel Monsters cards was something inspired by amiibo cards, of all things! With amiibo, the really important part is the data chips that exist inside the bases of the figurines (allowing for custom amiibo to exist). Everything else can be modified to hell and back without issue, including what the chip goes inside (hence why custom amiibo cards exist)! This explains how Duel Disks create holograms, and how they can calculate damage and card effects and such. For the activation of flip effects, spells, and traps, taking out the cards and quickly putting them back in face-up activates the effects. I would imagine for this to work, there would be two halves of the chip, one "face-up" and the other "face-down," with probably three sensors in each monster zone of the Disk itself, activated with the cards' edges. The top sensor is for attack position, and does not activate if the card is face-down (preventing what would be either vertical defense position or face-down attack position), while the left and right sensors (both of which have to be active at the same time) would be for defense position. Of course, if you think this explanation for the Duel Disks sensing cards' positions is stupid (fair enough, as I don't know much about the hardware side of technology), then you can completely ignore this! Death of the author and all that. This explanation only exists in the author's notes (for now...), so it's not really part of the text.
> 
> And if this existing in 1997 sounds unrealistic to you? Solid Vision is even more unrealistic of a concept. We do have a sorta-working fanmade AR version, but it's not really much like the YGO holograms, even though we live in 2021. Meanwhile, amiibo cards do exist in real life, so if YGO!1997 can have Solid Vision, I think it can also have data chips inside the cards.


	85. Godsbane

The duel began, both duelists had 4000 life points.

"I draw first!" said Malika. Malika drew a card. "Are you ready?" she asked. "I play one card face-down! And now I summon Humanoid Slime in attack mode!"

_Only 800 attack points, but she's playing it in attack mode?_ wondered the other Yugi. Wouldn't it have been better to put it in defense mode to take advantage of its 2000 defense points…? _She's obviously trying to lure me to attack, to make me fall for some kind of trap!_

"I end my turn!" said Malika.

"My turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. _It would be unwise to attack this turn, so I'll play a card for a card!_ "I play one card face-down, and play Gazelle in attack mode!" 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points. "My turn's over!"

"No attack?" asked Malika. "You're being awfully cautious… or should I say _cowardly?_ You won't be able to beat me like that… at least don't die until you see Slifer the Sky Dragon with your own eyes." She chuckled. "Now it's my turn!" Malika drew a card. "Worm Drake!" 1400 attack points, 1500 defense points. "And I'll play Polymerization and fuse them into Humanoid Drake!" Humanoid Drake had 2200 attack points.

_She fused on her second turn!_ thought the other Yugi. _But I'm safe for now… a Fusion monster cant attack on the same turn it was summoned!"_

"Oh, _can't_ it?" asked Malika. "Do you see my facedown card? The one you probably thought was a trap? Well, it _wasn't._ I reveal my facedown card, Quick Attack!" Humanoid Drake attacked Gazelle.

"Heh…" said the other Yugi. "Malika, I knew from the moment you played Humanoid Slime that you were going to use it as a fusion monster. After all, unlike Tribute Summons, Fusion Summons allow you to play a monster with high attack points without wasting a turn. I reveal my facedown card, De-Fusion!" Humanoid Drake was split up once again into its component monsters. "Now, Gazelle! Attack the Humanoid Slime!" This knocked Malika's life points down to 3300. "Well, Malika? I'm sure you've already planned your next move, but I've planned for the move after that!"

"Keh…" said Malika, smirking. "This is fun! But I was just testing the waters on that turn. The rumors don't lie. You have quite a talent, Yugi. Now! Let the duel continue!"

"My turn!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. Buster Blader. She would summon another card this turn, then Tribute that. "Meet Beta the Magnet Warrior!" Beta had 1700 attack points and 1800 defense points. "Battle Phase! Gazelle destroys the Worm Drake!" Malika had 3200 life points. "And now, Beta, attack Malika's life points directly!" Malika now had 1500 life points.

_You're about to be cornered, Yugi…!_ thought Malika. "My turn!" she said, drawing a card. "I summon Revival Slime in defense mode!" Revival Slime had 1500 attack points and 500 defense points.

_Revival Slime?_ thought the other Yugi. _Another slime monster?_

"And now, to activate Slime Breeding Machine!" said Malika. "This card summons one slime per turn! But as long as this device is on the field, I can't summon any other monsters."

_So that's her plan!_ thought the other Yugi. _She's going to keep summoning slimes until she has enough to sacrifice them for a high-level monster! She's going to summon Slifer! Does she already have the card in her hand? I'll have to kill her before she can play it…!_

_It's no use,_ thought Malika. _Now that my combo has begun, the advent of Slifer cannot be stopped. And all it takes is three more turns…_

"It's my turn!" said the other Yugi. "I sacrifice my two monsters to summon the dragon slayer, Buster Blader!" 2600 attack points, 2300 defense points. "I attack the Revival Slime! Hakai-ken Issen!" Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

Revival Slime hadn't _fully_ disappeared, and its remnants reformed back to its original form.

"This is the regenerative power of Revival Slime!" said Malika. "No matter what you do, it will not die. You might as well attack a pool of water! As long as it remains, your monsters can't touch me… now, back to me…" A Slime was summoned.

_Argh…_ thought the other Yugi. _I have to defeat it before it puts out more slimes on the field…!_

"The slimes created by the Breeding Machine are weak, with only 500 attack points. If you were to attack them, you could do me a lot of damage. So, in order to prevent that, I play the spell card Nightmare Steel Cage!" A hemispheric cage with metal bars and spikes on the outside formed around the other Yugi.

"The cage is strong," said Malika. "Now we can't fight for three turns."

_No…!_ thought the other Yugi. _She's going to use those turns to generate more slimes!_

"That's right," said Malika. "Even though I can't attack you, I can still build up my forces!" Yet another Slime was summoned. "By next turn I'll have all the monsters I need…" she said.

_Slifer is already in her hand…_ thought the other Yugi. _She'll summon it next turn!_

"Well, Yugi?" asked Malika. "What do you feel now that you're locked up in that steel cage? That's how I've felt my whole life! That's the fate of the Tomb Guardians!" _When I get my revenge, I will finally be free!_

_I… can't lose…_ thought the other Yugi. _I can't let my partner die! I can't lose my memories forever!_ She ended her turn.

Malika drew a card, as yet another Slime was summoned. "I now have three Slimes! Destroy the machine! Come forth, Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

The three Slimes vanished. The sky around them turned dark, lightning striking as Slifer the Sky Dragon, a bright red serpentine dragon with eyes entirely yellow and two mouths appeared before the duelists.

"That's right," said Malika. "This is one of the three Egyptian God Cards!"

The other Yugi gasped as Slifer roared. She was frozen in fear, heart beating so hard she could consciously _feel_ it. It felt as though the earth shook as it moved.

"No one can beat Slifer," said Malika. "Every duelist is powerless against Slifer's infinite attack power! Yes, Yugi, even _you._ "

"Infinite power?" asked the other Yugi.

"The Sky Dragon's attack and defense points are the number of cards in the player's hand, times one thousand. Right now, my doll has three cards, so Slifer has 3000 attack points."

"So then it would be 4000 after the next draw phase, and a maximum of 7000 attack points…!" said the other Yugi."

"I said _infinite_ power," said Malika. "I have a card in my hand that can increase Slifer's power even more!" _And that's not all,_ she thought. _The almighty Slifer has_ another _special ability!_ "After the end of your next turn, the Nightmare Steel Cage will disappear. At that moment, you will be vulnerable to Slifer. Now, Yugi! Make your move!" Slifer roared once more.

The other Yugi drew a card. _Right now, Slifer has 3000 attack points… my Buster Blader gains 500 attack points for every dragon on the opponent's side of the field… that makes 3100 attack points! If I attacked right now, I could kill Slifer… but I can't do anything as long as I'm surrounded by this steel cage…! And on her next turn, Malika can draw another card, and Slifer's attack points will go up again…!_

"What's wrong, Yugi?" asked Malika. "Has the _terror_ paralyzed you to the point that you can't draw a card? You can't fight me because of the steel cage, but you can still play a facedown card or summon a monster… you can at least _pretend_ not to give up, can't you?"

"I won't lose this fight!" said the other Yugi. She drew a card. Her hand now included Lightforce Sword, Spellbinding Circle, Kuriboh, and Dark Magician Boy. "I'll play two facedown cards and summon Kuriboh in defense mode! My turn is over!"

"And now, the cage disappears," said Malika. Indeed, the entire cage faded into a smoky effect that then vanished. Malika drew a card. Slifer now had 4000 attack points. "Here I go!" she said. "Slifer attacks Buster Blader! Super-Conductor Thunder Force!"

"I reveal my facedown card, Lightforce Sword!" said the other Yugi. "This takes one of the cards in your hand out of play!" Slifer had 3000 attack points. "Buster Blader evades Slifer's attack! He counterattacks with his dragon buster blade!" _Yes!_ she thought. _I can defeat Slifer!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"Not so fast!" said Malika. Indeed, something surprising happened.

"The Slime took its place!" said the other Yugi.

Malika chuckled. "You triggered my own facedown card, Slime Defender!" This card caused all attacks to the opponent's monsters to be redirected to Revival Slime. "And at this moment I activate a spell card, Card of Safe Return! This is a permanent spell card that allows me to draw three new cards every time my Slime regenerates! And since I have five cards, Slifer the Sky Dragon has 5000 attack points!" Buster Blader was destroyed, leaving the other Yugi with 2100 life points.

Elsewhere in the city, Kaiba heard a "Bip bip" from a communication device hidden in the collar of her coat. "Ms. Kaiba, we have detected the location of a Rare Hunter with a God Card! The place is 350 West Block 'E'. The duelist he is fighting is Yugi Mutou!" said the person on the other end.

_Yugi!_ thought Kaiba. So _they_ had gotten to her. This would not do. She _had_ to make it over there. Of course, Yugi _would_ defeat the Rare Hunter. That much was certain, considering that this was the only person able to defeat _her,_ Setomi Kaiba, at Duel Monsters. She just wanted to see what god card Yugi would have, that was all.

Unfortunately for her, on her way there, she ran into _those_ people. The ones Yugi called friends. She heard some of their conversation from the distance, probably helped by how much quieter this part of the city was, especially with the tournament.

"I can't duel just anybody for such an important battle," said Jounouchi..

"What do you mean?" asked a girl Kaiba didn't recognize, with white hair tipped with red. "What important battle are you talking about?"

"I promised Yugi something," said Jounouchi. "That I'll keep winning in Battle City, become a true duelist, and duel her in the finals." She stood up. "To become a true duelist, I must duel someone stronger than me."

"That _does_ make sense," said a person with short brown hair who Kaiba also did not recognize. Great. As if Yugi didn't have enough people she was wasting her time with. "Honing your skills and all that. But you have to balance fighting opponents strong enough to challenge you, yet you can realistically defeat."

"She's right," said Honda. "Only a limited number of duelists can enter the finals. If you waste time, someone will take your place!"

"If you don't make the finals, after all, it would have been for - hm?" Sugako finally took notice of something. Ansei, Tsukiko, and Hikari turned their heads to look at whatever had caught Sugako's attention.

There was a pause, as the group processed who had likely heard their conversation.

"Kaiba!" said Ansei.

_Huh?_ thought Tsukiko. "Who's that?" she asked. "And who's the kid?"

"That's Setomi Kaiba," whispered Hikari to Tsukiko. "But I don't know who the kid is."

"I think the more pertinent question is why is this nobody wearing a Duel Disk," said Kaiba.

"Why? Because I'm a duelist," said Jounouchi, lifting her arm up to show off the Disk.

"I thought the database had you labelled as a level 2," said Kaiba. "Well, whatever. Let's go, Mokuno."

"Kaiba's a bit of a jerk, it seems," said Tsukiko.

"A _bit_ of a jerk? She's _very much_ a jerk!" said Jounouchi.

"Oh, dang, it's worse than I thought," said Tsukiko.

"She's not _all_ bad," said Bakura.

"That's what _you_ say…" grumbled Jounouchi.

"I think I'll see for myself…" said Tsukiko.

Meanwhile, at the bridge…

"Come on, Yugi! It's your turn!" said Malika.

The other Yugi drew a card. Magic Cylinder. This would only work if she had a spellcaster in play… and thankfully, she had one in her hand. "Here I go!" she said. "I tribute Kuriboh to summon Dark Magician Boy, in defense mode!"

"You summoned a new monster," said Malika. "That activates Slifer's second effect!"

_What?!_ thought the other Yugi. Slifer's upper mouth opened, releasing a laser beam from its mouth, blasting the Dark Magician Boy.

"When the opponent summons a monster on their turn, Slifer deals it 2000 points of damage!" said Malika. "The opponent is unharmed, but if the card is in attack mode, it loses 2000 attack points! If it's in defense mode, and it has less than 2000 defense points, it's instantly destroyed! Summon Lightning Shot!"

"I reveal my facedown card, Magical Hats!" said the other Yugi. Four hats appeared on the field, as Yugi played two additional facedown cards.

Malika chuckled. "I thought I could end your pain quickly. But I guess you _want_ to prolong your suffering. I wish you the best of luck, though it's useless to resist."

"I end my turn!" said the other Yugi.

"It's my turn!" said Malika. Malika drew a card. _Right now I have six cards in my hand,_ she thought. _According to the rules, a player may have no more than seven cards. Any more, and one has to go in the graveyard. But! If I play this card…_ "I play a spell card, Infinite Cards! I think you can figure out what it does."

The other Yugi gasped. Next turn, Slifer would have 6000 attack points.

"Slifer, attack the hat on the right!" said Malika. "Dark Magician Boy is blasted to smithereens along with the hat!" Except… "Slifer's attack was absorbed by the Magic Cylinder?! Wh-what _is_ this…?"

"I hid two cards in the hat you attacked, along with Dark Magician Boy!" said the other Yugi. "The curse of the hexagram weakens Slifer and holds it in place!" Slifer now had 4300 attack points. "And now your Thunder Force reappears from the other cylinder, aimed back at you! Slifer will die from its own blow!"

"One word: no," said Malika. "Revival Slime jumps in the way! And it reforms! This means I get another three cards!" Slifer now had 7300 attack points. "One more thing," she said. "Spell effects only last an instant against a god. The effects of your magic will disappear in one turn! The circle is broken! And on the next turn, the Dark Magician Boy dies!"

This was an impossible situation to get out of. There was only one hope, but what were the chances…? _I can't win…_ thought the other Yugi, falling to her knees. _There's no way to defeat Slifer… there's just no way…_ She closed her eyes, breathing, in an attempt to calm down.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "Get on your feet, Yugi!" She got up onto one knee, turning to her right. Kaiba and Mokuno were there. "Your life as a duelist does _not_ end here!" Kaiba continued. "I _know_ you can defeat a god!"

_Kaiba!_ thought the other Yugi. She could feel her heart pounding.

"You are one of the few people I recognize as a duelist!" said Kaiba. "Where is your pride? I won't allow you to lose on _my_ watch!" Why, if _anyone else_ were to defeat Yugi – !

"Yugi! You have to play my sister in this tournament!" said Mokuno. "Don't lose to that creepy bald guy!"

"Can't you see it, Yugi? Our road of battle goes further than the eye can see! Don't tell me you're going to stop _here!_ If a god stands in your way, _mow him down!_ Have no regrets!"

"All right, Kaiba!" said the other Yugi, standing back up. "Stay right there! I _will_ defeat this god!"

_Keh keh keh… how convenient…_ thought Malika. _Setomi Kaiba, the wielder of the last god card, Obelisk the Tormentor… after I kill Yugi, it's_ your _turn, Kaiba!_

Not that _anyone_ except Kaiba could defeat Yugi… at least, in Kaiba's own opinion.

"Are you ready?" asked the other Yugi. "It's my turn!" She had two cards, Big Shield Gardna and Swords of Revealing Light. She drew a card, Monster Reborn.

"I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" said the other Yugi.

"I told you, spell effects last only an instant against gods!" said Malika.

"I wasn't going for Slifer," said the other Yugi. "That was to take care of Revival Slime!"

Malika glowered. What could _that_ be useful for?

"I now play a facedown card, and summon Big Shield Gardna, in defense mode!"

Malika chuckled. "The moment you summon a monster, Slifer automatically attacks for 2000 points of damage!"

Mokuno stared, wide-eyed, as Slifer's Summon Lightning Shot blasted Big Shield Gardna. "D-did he say 2000 points of damage?!"

"What awesome power," said Kaiba. "It's enough to wipe out almost any four-star monster in the game…"

Mokuno stared in shock, as Big Shield Gardna remained after the dust settled. "Yugi's monster is safe! It survived because it had over 2000 defense points!" It only had 600 defense points left, however.

_Fight, Yugi!_ thought Kaiba. _Don't be intimidated by the face of a god!_

_If I run out of monsters,_ the other Yugi thought, _Slifer's attack will hit me dead-on… if that happens, I'm dead! How can I overcome the infinite power of a god card?_

"My turn!" said Malika. She drew a card. "Now I have ten cards in my hand, and Slifer has 10000 attack points!"

"T-ten thousand… Setomi, his dragon gets stronger for every card he has in his hand! Plus, he played Infinite Cards, so there's no limit to how big his hand is! Big sister, how can Yugi beat a monster with infinite attack points?!"

Kaiba was silent. _Infinite attack points…?_ She regained her composure. "Yugi! Listen! _Nothing_ is infinite! That's just the gods' deception!"

"Slifer attacks!" said Malika. "Big Shield Gardna dies!" It was too bad she couldn't have attacked with Revival Slime… which would turn out to be her downfall.

"…I see…" said the other Yugi. "Kaiba, I know how to beat Slifer!"

_She knows…_ thought Kaiba, smirking.

"Yugi!" exclaimed Mokuno, grinning.

"My next turn will probably be the last turn of the duel! At the end of the turn, only one of us will be left standing, you or me!"

"Have you lost your mind?" asked Malika. "Are you saying there's a way you can dig yourself out of your grave in one turn?"

"There is!" said the other Yugi.

Malika's eyes widened. She could feel her heart beat harder. _She's lying…!_ she thought. _Th-there's no way for her to get out of my trap! Not unless she beats Slifer! And she can't!_ Right?

"S-Setomi…" said Mokuno.

"Quiet, Mokuno. Don't say anything," said Kaiba. _The card Yugi needs is in her deck,_ she thought. _It all depends on whether she can draw it!_ "Mokuno, watch closely!" she continued. " _This_ is the power of a true duelist!"

"True duelist…?" asked Mokuno. It wasn't often her sister called someone a true duelist.

"This is it!" said the other Yugi. "The last turn!" She drew a card. As she pulled it into the air, she briefly glimpsed the artwork. "Malika, I win."

"What?!" asked Malika. Did that fool even look at her card?!

Kaiba's eyes briefly widened. _Did she draw it?!_ she wondered, heart beating harder than before. _Mheh heh… of course!_ she thought, smirking with glee. _The god cards only choose the proudest duelists as their owners!_ Yugi truly would be a worthy rival.

"Here goes!" said the other Yugi. "This is my facedown card, Monster Reborn! With this card, I bring back my fallen warrior, Buster Blader!"

"Keh, so you're going to bring him back from the dead in defense mode just so I can kill him again?" asked Malika. "That'll only save you for one turn!

"Did you say _defense_ mode?" asked the other Yugi, smirking. "Wrong, Malika! Buster Blader is in attack mode!"

_What?!_ thought Malika. _Attack mode? She dares to attack Slifer? Is she insane?!_

"Now watch, Malika!" said the other Yugi. "This is the infinite combo that surpasses even a god!"

Malika laughed. "Infinite?! Surpassing a god?! Are you out of your mind?! There's nothing greater than the god cards! I'll prove that to you right now! Remember this card I played? This _continuous spell card?_ The Card of Safe Return? Its effects reach across the entire field! Even when _you_ bring back a monster, I still get to draw three new cards!" She did exactly that. Slifer now had 13000 attack points. Once again, it blasted at Buster Blader, reducing its attack points from 3100 to 1100. "Do you still intend to attack Slifer? If you change your mind, I'll even let you switch to defense position!"

"What kind of duelist do you think I am?" asked the other Yugi. This misdirection should work… "Buster Blader attacks!"

_Grr…_ thought Malika. _What are you plotting, Yugi?_ Her enemy was many things, but an idiot she was not.

"Here goes!" said the other Yugi. "My battle phase! Go, Buster Blader! Fight Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Not her _real_ target, of course…

Mokuno's eyes widened. _Yugi's card just isn't strong enough!_ she thought. Yugi should have used a spell card, or something!

Malika laughed. "How many times can you make the same mistake?" she asked. "That monster can't even touch a god! I activate the effect of Slime Defender! Did you forget about that card?"

"Heh. I knew it," said the other Yugi.

_What…?_ wondered Malika.

"I was waiting for this moment! I activate Brain Control!"

Malika laughed. "Brain Control won't work on a god!" she said.

"Who said I was targeting _Slifer?_ " asked the other Yugi.

"Eh…?"

"My _real_ target was Revival Slime! It regenerates on my side of the field!" said the other Yugi.

"What?!" asked Malika.

"That's your cue, Malika! A monster came back from the dead! Draw your three cards!" Malika did just that. "And since Revival Slime was summoned as one of _my_ monsters, Slifer attacks!"

Slifer did just that. And since Revival Slime not only had a measly 500 attack points, _and_ kept reviving itself from the grave… _Crap!_ thought Malika. _An infinite loop!_ A perpetual cycle of death and rebirth, that would end in deck-out on Malika' part.

"I win," said the other Yugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor change: I had Atem play Swords of Revealing Light in order to explain why Malika did not switch Revival Slime to attack mode.
> 
> And... yeah, Slime Breeding Machine is a gross name. But the Japanese name (Slime Breeder Reactor) wasn't any better. So I combined the Japanese name and the English name (the latter having the word jam instead of slime), because _what makes slime look like jam?!_ What made the people who translated the name think jam was a better word to use than slime? Was it a censorship thing? Was "slime" some inappropriate-for-kids slang term that eludes me as someone who wasn't even born until after the dubbed version of the first episode aired? Did the translator simply think "slime" was too gross in general? If anything, "breed" is the inappropriate term here!
> 
> Also, something's a bit weird in the Viz translation. At one point, Atem attacks Revival Slime, calling out the attack name, "Hakai-ken Issen!" This would be okay, if a little odd, until you realize that there's a translator's note saying that this translates to "Destructive Sword Flash." What the heck? Did they not have room for the English name without it looking awkward? Another weird thing throughout the Viz translation is Mokuba semi-consistently calling Kaiba by his last name. _Kaiba,_ his brother, _who he shares a last name with._ Obviously, I corrected this in the fic.
> 
> And originally, I did reference Strings in the narration during the duel, but since it's Malika controlling him, I figured it would be less confusing to have Malika!Strings be simply referred to as Malika the whole time since Strings has basically no personality whatsoever.
> 
> And last-minute, I added an anime-only scene, which works to catch Tsukiko and Hikari up on who Kaiba and Mokuno are. It also helps set up a bit of a gag later with Tsukiko. It's also a bit of a contrast between how Kaiba treats the other characters versus Yugi/Atem. So that's fun.
> 
> Also, fun fact! In the anime, when Kaiba steps in to tell Atem to defeat Slifer, Atem actually _bites his lip_ upon seeing him! I just found this to be an interesting detail, especially since it wasn't in the manga. Granted, I could just have my Prideshipping goggles on way too tight after taking off my anti-Prideshipping goggles (long story on that one), but hey. DSOD is backing me up on the Prideshipping front, platonic or otherwise. _Who goes that far for a simple rivalry?!_


	86. An Unlikely Teamup

The other Yugi looked back up at Kaiba and Mokuno.

"Yes! Yugi did it!" exclaimed Mokuno, running over to the other Yugi.

_Yugi… chosen to wield a god card…_ thought Kaiba. She knew Yugi could do it. Who else but the one person to legitimately defeat her, _without_ a bunch of psychic nonsense? Only the very best duelist was worthy of being her rival.

Mokuno had rushed over to Strings. "What's wrong with this guy?" she asked. "He's not moving! I-I guess he must be shocked after losing like that!" And she wouldn't blame him. She took Slifer the Sky Dragon out of his duel disk. "Hey, Yugi!" she said. "I'm Battle City's steering committee chairwoman, so I'll judge the ante for this fight! I'll give you, the winner, this card! Slifer the Sky Dragon! Here you go! And take this puzzle card, too! But don't get too used to it! Pretty soon they'll both belong to my big sister!" She laughed.

_A god card…_ thought the other Yugi, examining the card. It depicted the crimson serpentine dragon she had seen in the duel. It was level 10, and described the effects she had witnessed in the duel.

"You know what this means, Yugi," said Kaiba. "In Battle City, when duelists come face to face, they must fight!"

_No way!_ thought Mokuno. _Setomi is challenging Yugi to a duel_ right now…?! _Right after Yugi just_ _dueled?!_

Strings stood up, startling Mokuno. "Yugi…" said Malika.

"Give it up, Malika," said the other Yugi. "I won your god card fair and square!"

Malika chuckled. "Don't worry, Yugi. I didn't give it a second's thought. I know I'll get it back before long. But there's one thing I forgot to tell you. I will arrive in Domino City shortly. And when I do, my plan will go into motion. I can see the city through the eyes of my minions. Even your friends. I do believe one of them is called Jounouchi?"

The other Yugi's eyes widened. If other Rare Hunters were in Domino…

Malika chuckled. "Yes. The Rare Hunters have been keeping an eye on your friends, so I can use them whenever I want."

"You scum!" said the other Yugi.

Malika chuckled. "You'd better go and join them quickly, before something bad happens to them. I'm sure you'll give me back my god card if your friends' lives are at stake! And one more thing! The Rare Hunters know you're coming. By the time you get to your friends, _they'll_ be ready." She chuckled. "I hope you enjoy the game!"

With that, Strings collapsed.

"Yugi!" said Mokuno.

The other Yugi growled. _Jounouchi is in danger!_ She ran off to find them.

"Yugi! Don't try to run away!" said Kaiba. Had she chickened out?!

"Kaiba, I can't fight you right now!" said the other Yugi. "The Ghouls are after Jounouchi! I can't let my friends die!"

"Yugi!" said Mokuno. Surely Setomi could help! Right?!

"Hmph," said Kaiba. "Choosing friends over pride." _Over me…_ She felt a dull, unpleasant pang in her chest.

The other Yugi continued to run. Right now she could only think of the danger Jounouchi and possibly the others were in. The duel with Kaiba would have to wait. Eventually she ran into a pair of men, one tall and lanky with blue hair, and one short and stocky with no hair.

"Yugi, right?" asked the bald one. "If you want to go any further, you'll have to beat us first."

"In a duel, of course!" said the tall one. He chuckled.

"Get out of the way!" said the other Yugi.

"You wish!" said the bald one. "If we let you pass, Malika will kill us."

"Plus, if you refuse to duel us, your _friend_ will be eliminated immediately!" said the tall one.

_Rrg…_ thought the other Yugi.

"So, which one of us should go first?" asked the bald one. "How about you?"

"No, be my guest," said the tall one.

"Let's roshambo for it!" said the bald one.

"Fine…" said the tall one.

_Every moment I waste here puts Jounouchi in danger!_ thought the other Yugi. And those two kept _tying!_ Were they doing it on _purpose?!_

"Sorry, Yugi," said the bald one. "We can't decide who goes first…" Suddenly, both their eyes widened as they looked past the other Yugi. She turned around.

"Then come at us as a tag team, you pigs!" said Kaiba, running up to them. "Yugi and I will team up!"

_Kaiba!_ thought the other Yugi, eyes widening. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. This was new. The whole thing, really.

"A tag duel?!" asked the tall one.

"We _do_ have the right number of people…" noted the bald one.

_Why…?_ wondered the other Yugi. _Why's Kaiba teaming up with me? Willingly, at that?_ She didn't suppose the change to be unpleasant, but what could cause _this_ all of a sudden?

"Don't get the wrong idea, Yugi," said Kaiba. "One of the reasons why I held Battle City was to wipe out this card-counterfeiting scum. It's not like I'm lending you or your friends a hand!" She felt her body heating up, though she supposed it to be her clothes being far more suited to colder weather than mid-August.

The other Yugi looked at her in silence. Why did Kaiba suddenly feel the need to justify her actions…?

"Okay, let's go then," said the tall one.

After the four shuffled their decks, the duel began, each duelist having 4000 life points. They drew their opening hands.

"This'll be fast," said Kaiba. "Watch me, Yugi!" Just to show Yugi what she would be going up against, that was all. "I activate Pot of Greed!" She drew two cards. "I summon Lord of Dragon!" It had 1200 attack points and 1100 defense points. "I activate the spell Flute of Summoning Dragons!" A curved horn, wide end shaped like a dragon head, appeared in the Lord's hand. "When Lord of Dragon is face-up, The Flute of Summoning Dragons lets me summon two dragons from my hand," explained Kaiba.

"That means…"

"Come on, Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Hyozanryu!" said Kaiba. The two monsters appeared. "I activate a second Flute of Summoning Dragons!" With this, she summoned the remaining Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"No way! Four dragons already?" asked the tall Rare Hunter.

"I end my turn," said Kaiba.

"Dammit," said the bald Hunter. "I set a monster in defense position. I end my turn."

"My turn," said the other Yugi. She drew two cards. Mystical Refpanel and Multiply. She set them both. "I set Kuriboh in defense position. It's your turn."

"This isn't going well," said the bald Hunter.

"Leave it to me," said the tall one. _Even if they have powerful dragons on their side of the field, I have a trap card in my hand that will destroy them instantly._ He drew a card. Mirror Force. He chuckled. "I set a card and a monster face-down," he said. "I end my turn."

"Is that a trap or a spell?" asked Kaiba. "It doesn't matter either way."

"Be careful, Kaiba," said the other Yugi. "They're up to something."

"Let me show you," said Kaiba. "I, too, have a god card."

The other Yugi gulped.

"Blue-Eyes, become the god Obelisk's power!" said Kaiba. All three Blue-Eyes White Dragons disappeared to reveal a massive blue winged humanoid creature, with a build suggesting armor on its body. "Watch this, Yugi!"

"What?!" yelled the bald Hunter, as the two stared in terror at the creature.

_S-so_ that's _Kaiba's god card!_ thought the other Yugi.

Kaiba laughed. "This is one of god cards, Obelisk the Tormentor!" she said. "I tribute two monsters to activate Obelisk's effect!" Obelisk, after having squeezed the two other monsters Kaiba had summoned, made a punching motion, and the Rare Hunters' monster cards were destroyed. "Obelisk attacks!" she said. Obelisk punched again, this time aiming for the duelists.

"You fell for my trap!" said the tall Hunter. "Mirror Force!"

Kaiba chuckled. "Trap cards won't work against god cards!" Only one card, Ragnarok, could defeat it, but she doubted any Rare Hunters would have it, seeing as how it was only recently released to the public.

When the dust settled, the Rare Hunters had been defeated in one strike. Both Rare Hunters had fallen to the ground. The other Yugi ran up to the bald one, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, as Kaiba knelt down in front of the tall one.

"Where's Jounouchi?!" she asked. The Rare Hunter did not respond. He seemed to be unconscious.

"These weaklings had puzzle cards," said Kaiba. "This one's yours." She tossed it to the other Yugi, who caught it.

"I'm going to look for Jounouchi," said the other Yugi.

She stood up and ran a few steps, only for Kaiba to say, "Wait!"

"Stop bugging me! Now isn't the time!" said the other Yugi.

Kaiba turned her head. "Mokuno, contact HQ," she said.

"You're going to look for Jounouchi?" asked Mokuno. _This_ definitely was new. Not only calling someone a true duelist, but doing something that benefited someone else and _not_ her?

"If that fool starts dueling, our systems will detect her," said Kaiba.

"Kaiba…" said the other Yugi.

"But once you save her, we're going to settle things once and for all," said Kaiba. As much as she despised Jounouchi, she did not want her duel with Yugi to be a repeat of Duelist Kingdom. She had only "won" after crossing a line that she did not care to cross again.

The other Yugi nodded. The three walked off.

The Rare Hunters stood up.

"So _that's_ that Obelisk Malika kept talking about," said the tall one.

"I figured that god card out," said the bald one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy. If there was one term that, when I was a fandom newbie, I wouldn't have expected to apply to Kaiba, it was tsundere! Everything Kaiba says out loud? Is actually something Kaiba said in the manga! I did, however, add some thoughts for both Atem and Kaiba! Namely, the "Over me..." bit for Kaiba and Atem and Mokuno questioning why Kaiba is acting so differently. I also gave an explanation for why Kaiba would agree to help find Jounouchi even though they have no respect for each other, that I thought made sense and added to Kaiba's character development. That being said, I'm using the anime version of the scene where Jounouchi is saved from drowning, because that makes more sense. More on that when we get there.
> 
> When I originally set out to write this, I never intended to have any Prideshipping, or any Kaiba ships for that matter! But, after I stopped disliking Kaiba as much as I used to, the ship grew on me. At some point, I intended it to be more ambiguous and one-sided on Kaiba's part, but after it grew on me some more, I decided to have unambiguous, requited Prideshipping! Albeit with mutual obliviousness to each other's and even their _own_ feelings, because phew boy, are these two not the most emotionally-self aware people!
> 
> To convey this obliviousness, I couldn't outright say in the text that they are attracted to each other, not even in the narration, not until Transcend Game at least, because I don't think either of them at this point would be self-aware enough to realize that. Kaiba moreso because of emotional trauma, which would include quite a bit of emotional repression, but Atem would also be pretty oblivious, because amnesia and 3000 years in a Millennium Item is sure to do a number on your social skills!
> 
> And then reading a Tumblr post online, that was a shippier interpretation of the scenes above, made me realize that Kaiba's reactions to Yugi going off to find his friends could be interpreted as jealousy/envy from the shipping angle. That being said, I doubt that Kaiba's reaction to those emotions would be nearly as strong as I've read some people's headcanons as! Abridged!Kaiba, yeah I could see going pretty far (just _watch_ Abridged!S4), but canon!Kaiba? Nope! I think Kaiba would just get snarkier than usual, especially if he thought the person he liked was spending too much time with Jounouchi.
> 
> That being said, I don't think Kaiba would be questioning why he feels certain ways towards (who he thinks is) Yugi, because I don't think he's ever really been emotionally attached to anyone besides Mokuba. As such, _everything_ about his relationship to Atem is new for him. The rivalry aspect is most obvious to everyone, including himself, so he assumes that everything he feels towards him has to do with that, meaning he would rationalize everything with that frame of reference, until Atem is gone and he realizes that Atem being his rival is only part of why he feels such grief at him being dead. Probably solidified by how dueling Yugi doesn't feel the same.
> 
> On a more dueling-related note, Ragnarock showed up in the anime, defeating Ra. It did kind of come out of nowhere, but it was a better explanation than the manga (I forget the manga explanation), so I decided to improve upon the anime explanation by mentioning Ragnarock earlier.


	87. A Fisher's Duel

Domino City. 1:50 PM.

Bakura looked behind herself. The others had walked ahead of her.

"Hey Bakura! You okay?" asked Tsukiko.

Bakura gave a start. "Oh, sorry…" she said, face faintly pink.

"No need to apologize!" said Tsukiko, grinning.

"You're doing quite well, Jounouchi!" said Sugako.

"Yeah! I already got four puzzle cards!" exclaimed Jounouchi. "I only need two more to get into the finals!"

"I haven't seen Yugi, but I'm sure she's doing great too!" said Ansei.

"Of course! She's probably already waiting at the finals!" said Jounouchi. "I promised Yugi I'd fight her in this tournament! I can't lose until I make that a reality!"

"You know what's funny, Jounouchi?" asked Bakura. "You've won a lot of rare cards, like Jinzo and Insect Queen, but they're all creepier than your usual choices!"

"Shut up!" said Jounouchi. "It's not like I wanted them!"

"Actually, I like them!" said Bakura, smiling. "I love grotesque cards! I have some pretty scary ones in my deck!"

"Huh?!" asked Jounouchi. "You have a deck too?!"

"Yeah!" said Bakura. "It's an occult-themed deck!"

"Ugh… o-occult?!" asked Jounouchi. "I'm definitely not dueling you!"

"Oh, cool!" said Tsukiko. "I myself am planning on picking up a structure deck pretty soon! I've got my eyes on a demon-themed one KaibaCorp is going to be releasing!"

"Not you too!" said Jounouchi.

Tsukiko laughed. "Dang, you _really_ don't like occult stuff, do you?"

"Weren't _you_ the one who looked like she nearly puked during my duel with Haga?" asked Jounouchi.

"Oh, shut up!" said Tsukiko, still giggling. "Those demon cards are _meant_ to look like that! _Your_ cards, last time I checked, weren't meant to have _vines_ coming out of every orifice!"

"All right, back to business!" said Jounouchi. "Where's my next opponent? I'll use the Duelist Search Sensor!"

"Duelist Search Sensor? What's that?" asked Hikari.

"It can detect other active duel disks!" said Jounouchi. "If there's a duelist within 50 meters, this'll find them quickly!"

"Hmm… that's convenient…" said Sugako. "They didn't have anything like that back in my day…"

"Grandma? I don't think they had anything like _Duel Monsters_ back in your day," said Tsukiko.

"This way!" said Jounouchi. "Duelist at twelve o'clock! Let's go!" She started running, and the others struggled to keep up.

"Wait for us!" said Ansei.

Bakura, or rather, the _other_ Bakura, stayed behind. The center needle on her Millennium Ring was pointing somewhere. A new Millennium Item. Someone was coming.

Meanwhile, the others stopped when they found a building.

"The aquarium?!" asked Ansei, in disbelief. "There's a duelist here?"

"That's what the sensor says," said Jounouchi.

"It seems duelists can be found in all kinds of weird places," said Hikari.

"I bet it's a water-themed duelist," said Tsukiko.

"What makes you say that?" asked Hikari.

"I've watched lots of duels on TV," said Tsukiko. "A lot of duelists put on some dramatic act that relates to their deck theme. Like pro wrestling in America, except duels aren't scripted. As far as I know, anyway."

"Granny, you got the entrance fee, right?"

"Wha – ?! _Me?_ "

"Guys, I think we lost Bakura…" said Ansei.

"Yikes," said Tsukiko. "Should we look for her…?"

"I _think_ we should be fine…" said Ansei. "She has a weird habit of disappearing and reappearing when we least expect it…"

"That's… kinda cool but also sounds a little creepy, the way you're phrasing it…" said Tsukiko. "Come on, we should catch up with the others."

Meanwhile, Malika spied the situation from the eyes of one of the Rare Hunters. _The aquarium… they'll probably be there for a while… watch them so they don't get away,_ she told the Rare Hunter. _I'll be right there!_

She continued to ride her motorcycle, up until she nearly crashed into something, or rather some _one,_ who was knocked over. The other Bakura took advantage of the situation by searching the unconscious person's body. Curses. Nothing but junk. But on the other hand, if her Millennium Ring was any indication, she was closer to the Millennium Item wielder…

Eventually, Malika stopped in front of the aquarium.

"We have been waiting for you, Malika," said the Rare Hunter. "The one you seek is inside the aquarium."

"I know…" said Malika. She had a plan. Brainwash Jounouchi, and force Yugi to duel her, by holding another one of her friends hostage. Probably that boy who was with Jounouchi. Suddenly, she heard a voice, and turned towards the sound.

"So _you're_ the one with a Millennium Item…"

"Who _are_ you?" asked Malika.

The other Bakura chuckled. "I'm the one who's going to kill you if you get in the way of my plan! I don't spare anyone who gets in my way."

_"Plan?" What does she mean?_ wondered Malika. But then she spotted something around her neck. _Sh_ _e has a Millennium Item? How much does she know? Just when I have Jounouchi almost in my clutches, ready to serve as bait to trap Yugi, I have to deal with_ this _fool!_ "You two, keep an eye on Jounouchi," she told her henchmen. "She and I have to talk." She turned to the other Bakura. "If this is about the Millennium Items, let's talk somewhere private. I'm sure you understand."

The other Bakura was silent. Perhaps this person could be a useful pawn…

The two made it to a dock, away from where anyone was likely to be.

"So, tell me, what is it you want?" asked Malika.

"Your Millennium Item, of course," said the other Bakura. "If you give it to me without a fuss, I'll let you live."

"So you're collecting them?" asked Malika. "But why?"

"Power, of course," said the other Bakura. "In a hidden temple in Egypt is the Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories. When the seven Millennium Items are placed in the tablet, the door of darkness will open, and the one who opened it will gain the evil power which was sealed in the void long ago." She chuckled.

_How does she know about the Tablet?_ wondered Malika. _It's a secret of the Tomb Guardians…_ The last people to know about it outside the Guardians had died off three thousand years ago… right? "Keh heh… I see," she said. "But I'm afraid it takes more than the Millennium Items to open the door of darkness. It seems you don't know the whole truth."

_What?!_ wondered the other Bakura.

"Do you know Yugi, the owner of the Millennium Puzzle?" asked Malika. "You must be planning to get rid of her eventually, right?"

The other Bakura smirked. "Maybe…" she said.

"Hmm," said Malika. "So who _are_ you?"

"You can call me Bakura," said the other Bakura. Did she ever even have a name…? It had been so long, she could barely remember much of her own life, before all of… _this._

"Listen, Bakura," said Malika. "I don't care about the Millennium Items. All I care about is Yugi's life."

"Really?" asked the other Bakura.

"If my hunch is correct, the Nameless Pharaoh's soul is occupying Yugi's body," she said. "If I can bury her here at Battle City, this Millennium Rod will mean nothing more to me than a chunk of metal. But for now, I still have use for it. How about this? If you agree to help me, then, after it's all over, I'll be glad to hand over the Rod."

"And if I say no…?" asked the other Bakura.

Malika chuckled. "Then you won't leave this pier alive. At least, not in mind."

"Hmph…" _Does she_ really _know something about the tablet that I don't…?_ wondered the other Bakura.

"I'll give you five minutes," said Malika. "Yes or no, it's your choice."

The other Bakura was silent. _Do I make her my enemy, or not…?_ On the one hand, it would be useful to have an ally on her side, and if her plan succeeded, she would collect three Items in one fell swoop. On the other, how could she be sure Malika would keep her word? And even if she did, how useful would Malika prove herself? What if she just killed her right here and there, no matter what she said? And "not alive in mind?" What did she mean…? Brainwashing…?!

"All right, five minutes is up," said Malika. "Now you either die, or join forces with me. What's your choice?"

The other Bakura inhaled, then exhaled. A tentative ally was better than none. "If you want to hurt Yugi, the easiest way is to go through her friends," she said. "I've been waiting for the right moment, myself."

"I know," said Malika. "I already plan to use them. That's why I've got this Millennium Rod."

"Their bond is strong," said the other Bakura. "They'll instantly know that you're up to no good. But I have a convenient hiding place, my host. Perhaps _she_ could prove useful…"

"'Host,' eh?" asked Malika. "And how will you do that?"

"My answer is _this,_ " said the other Bakura, pulling out a switchblade from her pocket. "I'll deliberately injure myself, and make my host take over. You'll put on the act of a caring stranger, and they'll trust you."

"Excellent," said Malika. "And then I'll brainwash Jounouchi, and another one of Yugi's friends. I have a place set up to force Yugi to duel, and die if she loses."

Malika squeezed her eyes shut as the other Bakura made the move to strike at her own arm.

Meanwhile, at the aquarium, the group had settled into their seats.

"Thank you for helping pay the entrance fee," said Sugako.

"No problem, ma'am," said Tsukiko.

"It's here!" said Jounouchi. It was a whale that was to perform tricks in front of the audience.

"Talk about a big catch!" said a young woman in a blue robe, who was not in the bleachers but in front of the railing surrounding the pool.

"Hey, it's her! Ryona Kajiki!" said Jounouchi.

"You know her?" asked Hikari.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi. "Yugi dueled her in Duelist Kingdom!"

"Cool!" said Tsukiko.

Kajiki turned around, spotting the group. "Hey! Jounouchi!" she exclaimed.

"Man, it's been a long time!" said Jounouchi. "How ya doing?"

"Wow, remember Duelist Kingdom?" asked Kajiki. "So you're in Battle City too, huh?"

"You bet!" said Jounouchi.

"What are you doing in the aquarium?" asked Ansei. "The duels are supposed to be in the streets!"

"Yeah, but I've never been to an aquarium before!" said Kajiki. "Boy, what a big fish! I want to pick him out and fry him on the grill!"

"What…?" asked Hikari.

"An aquarium is a place to _see_ fish, not _eat_ them," said Ansei.

"Huh?! City folks pay money just to _see_ fish?" asked Kajiki. "Now that's weird!"

"I take it you're from the countryside?" asked Tsukiko.

"Yeah!" said Kajiki. "If they come to my sea, I'll show them all the fish they want!" She laughed. "By the way, Jounouchi, what are you doing here? You must love fish more than I thought!"

"I didn't come here to look at fish!" said Jounouchi. "I came here to duel!" She activated her Duel Disk.

"With me?!" asked Kajiki.

"Yeah!" said Jounouchi.

Kajiki laughed. "You can't compete against my sea deck!"

"What'd you say, you fish freak?!" asked Jounouchi.

"I said, fine! I accept your challenge, Jounouchi!" said Kajiki.

"That's more like it!" said Jounouchi.

The crowd was confused at this exchange. Somebody speculated that it was simply an opening act.

"Okay, Jounouchi!" said Kajiki. "We each own four puzzle cards! Why don't we bet two? That way, the winner will make it to the finals!"

"It's a deal!" said Jounouchi. "Let's bet two rare cards as well!"

With that, the duel began, each duelist having 4000 life points.

"Good luck, Jounouchi!" said Ansei.

"I go first!" said Jounouchi. "I summon a monster in defense mode!" Next turn, she planned to summon Giltia the Dark Knight.

Kajiki laughed. "It's my turn!" _A facedown monster, eh…? Better not rush in…_ It could be a Flip monster. "Flying Fish, in defense mode!"

"So, you think you can fight me with fish?" asked Jounouchi. "My deck has some super strong warriors! Lemme show you!" She drew a card. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Giltia!" Thankfully, she had remembered to take out Parasite Paracide.

"I activate a trap card, Torrential Tribute!" When a monster was summoned, this card would destroy all of the opponent's monsters. _This is the easiest duel I've ever played,_ thought Kajiki.

Jounouchi's eyes widened briefly.

"It's my turn!" said Kajiki. She drew a card. "Flying Fish, attack Jounouchi directly!" Jounouchi had 3200 life points. "I play one facedown card and end my turn. I'm disappointed in you, Jounouchi. I thought a Duelist Kingdom finalist would be tougher to defeat."

"It's my turn!" said Jounouchi. She would _not_ let anything get her down! She drew a card. "Here I come! Alligator Sword, in attack mode!" 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points. Nonetheless, she played two facedown cards and ended her turn. That facedown of Kajiki's could be something terrible.

"Heh! That's more like it!" said Kajiki. "Now it's my turn! I tribute Flying Fish to summon Amphibian Beast!" It had 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points. "Are you ready?"

"I activate a spell card, Fairy Box!" said Jounouchi. A giant whack-a-mole style box appeared on the field.

"What? Six holes? Do I have to guess the right one?" asked Kajiki.

"Can you hit the Alligator Sword?" asked Jounouchi. The monster in question was popping in and out of the holes at a blinding speed.

"Nice try!" said Kajiki. "Too bad I have this card! The field spell, Umi!" The field became covered in water. Due to the reworked cards, Umi was now significantly less powerful, only boosting Fish, Sea Serpent, Thunder, and Aqua monsters' attack points by 200 and reducing the attack of Machine and Pyro monsters by the same amount. There would never be a Sea Stealth II. "Amphibian Beast, hunt him down!"

"Now! Here's my trap card!" said Jounouchi. "Mirror Force!" Amphibian Beast was destroyed.

Kajiki chuckled. "Not bad!" she said. "Looks like you can put up a decent fight! Looks like this won't be boring!"

"It's my turn again!" said Jounouchi. Now was her chance. She drew a card. Yes. Polymerization. "I fuse Alligator Sword on my field and Baby Dragon in my hand to summon the Alligator Sword Dragon!" At 1700 attack points and 1500 defense points, it was an improvement on Alligator Sword… and had the useful effect of being able to attack directly if the opponent only controlled Water, Fire, or Earth-attribute monsters. "I attack your life points directly! Glide Sword!" Now Kajiki had 2300 life points.

"It's my turn!" said Kajiki. "I play a card face-down and end my turn!"

"Okay! Here I go!" said Jounouchi. "Go, Alligator Sword Dragon! Attack her life points directly!"

"Heh! Not so fast!" said Kajiki. "Have a trap card! Tornado Wall!" This continuous trap card prevented battle damage as long as Umi was face-up on the field.

"Crap!" said Jounouchi. "Darn it, it's your turn!"

Kajiki chuckled. "I set a monster face-down and end my turn!"

Well. There was only one way to find out what monster Kajiki had. "Alligator Sword Dragon, attack!" Unfortunately, when Jounouchi attacked, her monster was destroyed, leaving her with 3100 life points. _Wh-what?! Something killed the dragon?!_ That "something" was Legendary Fisherman, boasting 1850 attack points and 1600 defense points, raised to 2050 and 1800 respectively. _Crap!_ Jounouchi thought.

Kajiki chuckled.

"I'll summon Little Winguard in defense mode and wait!" said Jounouchi. Little Winguard had only 1400 attack points and 1800 defense points, but Jounouchi had little other choice.

"My turn!" said Kajiki. She drew a card. "I switch Legendary Fisherman to attack mode and attack your monster!" There was no point in risking Jounouchi summoning something powerful with a tribute. "This is the terror of the sea! So, Jounouchi, do you still think the sea's 'not that tough?'"

Jounouchi gulped.

"I'll set a monster in defense position!" said Kajiki. "I also play two cards facedown! I end my turn!"

"Argh…" said Jounouchi, drawing a card. "I play a face-down card and a monster in defense mode!" Rocket Warrior, at a mere 1500 attack points and 1300 defense points, wasn't any more useful than Little Winguard. "I end my turn!"

"Get ready!" said Kajiki. "I set a monster in defense mode! Now I activate the spell Fortress Whale's Oath to tribute my monsters to summon the ultimate sea beast! Fortress Whale!" Fortress Whale had a whopping 2350 attack points and 2150 defense points, now boosted to 2550 and 2350. If the Legendary Fisherman would have been tough to take down, Fortress Whale would be nigh-impossible.

"Jounouchi! You're finished!" said Kajiki. "Let this be a lesson! Don't ever take a tournament duel lightly! I can't stand people who underestimate their foes! Just like my dad did!"

Jounouchi's brows raised.

Kajiki continued. "For people who live off the sea, losing your boat is like death. So on days when the sea was rough and other fishermen were afraid to go out, my dad would borrow their boats and go fish. And that's how I lost him. Now do you get it? I'll teach you to never underestimate your foes, whether it be people, cards, or even the weather!"

"Ryona… you're a proud duelist, and I _do_ respect you, but as long as I'm a duelist, I can't give up!"

"Then _try,_ Jounouchi! Just _try_ to stand up to my monsters!" said Kajiki. "My turn! Legendary Fisherman, attack Jounouchi's monster!" That eliminated Rocket Warrior. "Brace yourself, Jounouchi! I attack your life points directly with Fortress Whale!" Now Jounouchi had 550 life points.

"Oh no! She's on her last legs!" said Sugako. Tsukiko and Hikari were both wide-eyed. Was this the end…?

_T_ his _is it, Jounouchi!_ thought Kajiki. _I win!_ Nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

Things did, in fact, go wrong.

"I draw!" said Jounouchi. The card she drew was Kunai with Chain. This, a spell card, a monster card, and a single face-down card. It would have to be enough. "Here goes nothing! I play a face-down card, and summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!" At 2000 attack points and 1600 defense points, it would be Jounouchi's only hope of winning the duel.

"I equip Lightning Blade to Panther Warrior!" Lightning Blade increased Panther Warrior's attack points by 800 and decreased all Water monsters' attack points by 500, resulting in Panther Warrior having 2800 attack points to Fortress Whale and Legendary Fisherman's 2050 and 1550 respective attack points. "I attack Fortress Whale!" With that, Fortress Whale was down.

"Heh," said Kajiki. "Even if you attacked my life points directly, you still wouldn't be able to deal damage."

Jounouchi mentally growled. "I end my turn," she said.

Kajiki had to breathe a bit. Unfortunately, since this was the beginning of her turn, she couldn't play Return of the Doomed. "That's the end of my turn."

"My turn!" said Jounouchi. She drew a card. _Yes!_ she thought. "I've got a new card!" she said. "Giant Trunade!" This card forced all players to return their spell and trap cards to their hand. Not a problem for Jounouchi, considering that the only card she would need at this point was Lightning Blade. She re-equipped it to Panther Warrior. "I attack the Legendary Fisherman!" she said. This reduced Kajiki's life points down to 1450. "I end my turn."

Kajiki drew a card. "I play Monster Reborn, and bring back Legendary Fisherman… I end my turn…"

_That one? But why?_ wondered Jounouchi. "Isn't Fortress Whale stronger than Legendary Fisherman…?" she asked. "Why didn't you bring that one back?"

"I'll tell you why," said Kajiki. "It's the only card I didn't want to see dead…"

Jounouchi attacked Legendary Fisherman, bringing Kajiki's life points down to zero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the duel that I changed most drastically! I wanted to keep the Battle City rules more in-line with the TCG than in canon, although I still preserved some anime-only rules (such as the ability to put monsters in face-up defense position). The way I see it, Duel Monsters doesn't have to conform precisely with the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, in my opinion, because like I've said before, it was the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga that came first, not the card game. In addition to all that, the timeline for Duel Monsters versus Yu-Gi-Oh! is drastically different. Duel Monsters existed since at least April of 1996 (being the earliest time the plot could have started, if we cram all the chapters before Kaiba's debut in the manga to fit within three weeks) in contrast to [the first real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! cards not existing in Japan until March of 1999](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Starter_Box), which would be around the time _Dark Side of Dimensions_ takes place. ([source](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_\(manga\)#March_1999)) So, as with unrealistic technology allowing for Solid Vision in 1997, I think I can afford to relax on things like particular rules and how specific cards work if different fictional people in the Yugi-verse developed Duel Monsters compared to real-life people working on the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (case in point: Berry, Lemon, Apple, Chocolate, and Kiwi Magician Girls were around in 1999 in the Yugi-verse. They weren't even _announced_ before 2016 or so when DSOD was released). This "different timeline" explanation, I think, gives me a bit more wiggle room for including cards that may have only showed up in later installments. I'll try not to abuse this too much (for example, having characters synchro summon when it's not even at the 5D's point in the timeline), but things like characters' monsters having support cards that plausibly could have existed at this point but weren't released until later, I'll allow.
> 
> So to put it short, I don't think the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and Duel Monsters the card game are exactly the same thing, and I don't think Duel Monsters the card game working differently from the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is a writing flaw. However, if Duel Monsters the card game breaks its own internal logic to make a duel go a certain way, or if the characters make out-of-character bad decisions, then yes, that is a problem.
> 
> That being said, I did work on things like some cards having their TCG effects rather than their anime/manga effects... for the fun and challenge of it more than anything else. It was mentally challenging to see how I could take full advantage of the cards that the characters have, while those cards have their TCG effects, to have the duel go a similar way to canon, while being more TCG-compliant.
> 
> On a slightly more humorous note, I referenced the name of one of the manga chapters covering this duel. It was called "Sea Stealth II," but considering Umi does nothing like that in the TCG, I felt that a reference to there not being one would be appropriate.


	88. Victory

"Ryona… you…"

"You did it," said Kajiki. "You beat me."

"Yes! Jounouchi won!" said Ansei. Tsukiko and Hikari were beaming. "Hm…" he said. "Wait a second. What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong?" asked Tsukiko.

"She won, but she doesn't look happy at all," said Ansei.

"Ryona…" said Jounouchi.

Kajiki resumed her grin. "Heh! Good job, Jounouchi! Guess you're not so bad after all!"

"Hold on," said Jounouchi. "If you had a card that could bring back the dead, why didn't you bring back Fortress Whale? If you did, you wouldn't have lost!"

Kajiki paused briefly. "It doesn't matter now," she said.

"It does absolutely matter!" said Jounouchi.

"All that matters is that you won," said Kajiki. "You got my life points down to zero. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Don't you talk to me like that!" said Jounouchi. "I'm a duelist, and you are too! If you threw the game, I want a rematch! _Especially_ since you talked about not underestimating opponents!"

_Heh. I guess there are some real fools in this world,_ thought Kajiki. _A real fool, with a true duelist's eyes!_ "Jounouchi…" she said. "That card was my trump card, and you beat it. That's why I didn't want to prolong the match. That card was the _soul_ of my deck."

"That card? But why…?" asked Jounouchi.

"I've been fighting side by side with this card, using a sea deck, for a long time. Fighting and winning… it's always reminded me of my dad. Perhaps he's somewhere out at sea. That's why I couldn't leave this card in the graveyard, even if it meant I lost…" She laughed. "I mean, that's got to be pretty silly! And I call myself a _duelist!_ I mean, what does it matter, as long as you win?" She laughed some more.

"That's not true, Ryona!" said Jounouchi. "We duelists fight for something in our hearts! If I were you I woulda done the same thing!"

Kajiki's eyes widened. She looked down at the card, and came to a decision. "In Battle City, the rule is for the loser to give the winner their most important card!" she said. "This card's not that rare, but to me, it's the most important card I've got. And that means I want _you_ to have it, Jounouchi!"

"I can't accept that!" said Jounouchi. "It means far too much to you!"

"No…" said Kajiki. "I realized something while we were fighting. My dad was lost at sea, but if he were here, he'd tell me, 'Ryona, a card's just a card! You're relying far too much on that card! What you should really believe in is _yourself!_ '"

"Ryona…" said Jounouchi.

"Besides, that _can't_ be too healthy, being so attached to a single card! Even without it, my dad will be at my side!" said Kajiki.

"All right!" said Jounouchi. "You convinced me! I'll take it!"

"Yeah!" said Kajiki. "I'll win next time, you got that?"

"You can try!" said Jounouchi. "But I'll be stronger too!" With that, Jounouchi had six puzzle cards, Fortress Whale, and Legendary Fisherman.

The group left. At the door, they chatted.

"Hey, Jounouchi…" said Hikari.

"Yeah?" asked Jounouchi.

"You know that thing Kajiki said about being attached to a single card not being healthy?"

"Yeah…?" asked Jounouchi.

"Somebody should've told Kaiba about that!"

Jounouchi laughed. "Yeah, they really should've!"

"You should've seen Kaiba freaking out when she saw Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!" said Tsukiko.

"Wait, how do you know what happened during Duelist Kingdom?" asked Ansei.

"It was televised," said Tsukiko. "But man, Yugi and Kaiba were _both_ acting funky during their duels with Pegasus!"

"Yeah…" said Ansei. It was probably best not to tell Tsukiko and Hikari about the whole Millennium Eye deal. They probably wouldn't believe them, and might think they were crazy. "Anyway, Jounouchi, if you've got the six puzzle cards, doesn't that mean you can find the location of the finals?"

Jounouchi laughed, though it rang slightly hollow. "I sure can! Let's see here… if I remember correctly, once I put all six cards together, it'll activate a holographic beam pointing to the finals! Yugi should already be there!" _Wait for me, Yugi!_ she thought. "Hopefully Shizu will get to see me duel! He's supposed to be ready to take his bandages off soon!

Suddenly, Ansei spotted something. Jounouchi, Tsukiko, and Hikari followed his gaze.

"Bakura!" said Tsukiko. Bakura was slumped forward, bloodied arm bearing a Duel Disk - wait, when did Bakura get a Duel Disk?

"Hang in there!" said Malika, wearing dark pants and a lavender crop top. "Are you okay…?"

"Bakura! What's going on? You're hurt!" said Jounouchi.

"You can do it! Come on!" said Malika.

Bakura let out a strangled sound of pain.

"Are you people her friends?" asked Malika.

"What happened to her? She's been cut up!" said Ansei.

"I found her lying in the street…" said Malika.

"Who was it?! Who did this to her?!" asked Jounouchi, furious. Whoever did this to Bakura was going to _pay!_

"I treated her the best I could," said Malika. "But she needs to go to a hospital."

"Bakura, listen to me!" said Jounouchi. "Who did this to you?"

"I-I don't know…" said Bakura. "I don't remember… when I… woke up…" She had felt incredibly weak, and her arm was bleeding profusely. Thankfully, this kind stranger had helped her up.

"Thank you," said Ansei. "We'll take care of her now."

"Hey, I've got a question," said Tsukiko. "Where else was Bakura injured?" Why would a person attack another person's arm, and _only_ their arm…? D-did Bakura…?!

"I'm not sure," said Malika.

"I'll get a cab and take her to the hospital!" said Sugako.

"Can I go with you, ma'am…?" asked Tsukiko. "I'm kind of worried that Bakura's injuries… weren't necessarily inflicted by others…"

"Sure you can!" said Sugako.

Tsukiko let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said.

Jounouchi turned to Malika. "Thanks! Sorry you had to go through all this…"

"No, it's okay," said Malika. "Hmm…" She lifted her arm, revealing a Duel Disk.

"Oh, you're a duelist too…?" asked Jounouchi.

"Yes, but I'm not very good…" said Malika. "Please don't say you want to duel me…!"

"Heh! I already qualify for the finals!" said Jounouchi. "No need to worry! Unless _you_ end up there!"

"What?! Wow, you must be strong!" said Malika. _Keh heh… I should be able to beat her deck, from what I've seen…_ "I'm Namu!" she said. "Nice to meet you…"

"I'm Jounouchi!"

"Ansei!"

"And Hikari!"

"You seem like good people! I hope we can be friends!" _Good friends… keh heh heh…_ Suddenly Malika heard one of her minions' thoughts.

_Malika, it's an emergency, ma'am,_ said the Rare Hunter. _Yugi and Kaiba have teamed up, and they both have god cards! We can no longer stop them!_

_Don't worry,_ said Malika. _I've arranged for assassins, with decks to defeat the gods themselves!_ _In the meantime, I'll turn Yugi's friends into my pawns!_ "Excuse me…" she said out loud. "What's wrong? You've been quiet…"

"Namu, right?" said Jounouchi. "We're worried about our friend Bakura. It's even to the point that Tsukiko wanted to go with her!"

"Don't worry! She'll be fine!" said Malika. "Your grandma took her to the hospital!"

"I guess so!" said Jounouchi.

"Yeah," said Ansei. "Let's call Yugi's grandma later."

"By the way, Jounouchi," said Malika. "Could you give me some advice on dueling?"

"You asked for it!" said Jounouchi. "I will _not_ go easy on you when we spar!"

"Uh-oh…" said Ansei.

Malika chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used another anime version of a scene! The bit that happens right after Malik reveals the injured Bakura to the others, in the manga, had a couple of dudes attempt to beat up Malik and Bakura because the other Bakura stole one of their duel disks. They're stopped because Jounouchi beat them up first. The reason I went with the anime version is simple: If I'm going to have fighting in my fiction, and it features a main character/character being focused on for the time being, I don't want to leave the fighting off-page. That's exactly what happened in the manga. Whatever Jounouchi did to the dudes was off-page, and the anime didn't elaborate like it did with how Kaiba managed to summon Obelisk the Tormentor in his first tag duel with Atem. And frankly, I don't want to have to come up with my own action sequences. I can change up duels if I feel it's necessary or if I think it would be fun, and I managed to come up with a sequence of events that leads Kaiba to summon Obelisk the Tormentor on her first turn in Chapter 15, but that's because I have an understanding of Duel Monsters. I don't have an understanding of fist-fighting.
> 
> Also, Namu is a gender-neutral name, which is why I didn't change Malika's alias.
> 
> Fun fact: I wrote chapter 17 of the Abridged Series (which has the framing device of Selena and Dawn watching a video of the Duelist Kingdom duels) before this chapter! So in a way, I'm referencing YGOHTAS by having Tsukiko and Hikari mention the Kaiba vs Pegasus and Yugi vs Pegasus duels as having been televised!
> 
> Also, there may or may not be a delay in when I release this chapter versus the next Abridged chapter, because my state is doing rolling blackouts, which means I can't access the internet from my computer because the router wouldn't work. Editing on mobile is also hell, so I won't do it.


	89. A Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Discussions of self-harm and allusions to suicide. Ctrl+F, and then "Tsukiko smiled" to skip.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Tsukiko and Sugako were in Bakura's hospital room. She was in well enough condition that they could visit.

"Sugako, I hope things are going to be okay for Bakura…" said Tsukiko.

Sugako gently smiled. "It'll be fine, Tsukiko. The doctors said the injury looks worse than it is."

"I don't mean the injury itself, ma'am," said Tsukiko. "I mean whatever _actually_ caused it. The fact that Bakura, sweet, gentle Bakura, supposedly got in a _fight?_ A fight severe enough to warrant a _stab wound?_ If a fight ends in a stab wound, why would they go for Bakura's _arm?_ I don't know much about fighting, but I _do_ know that attacks are rarely aimed at limbs. They usually aim for the center of mass. If… if Bakura's in a bad mental state… I don't want her to lose her life. Whether… whether accidental… or _not._ "

"There, there," said Sugako, wrapping an arm around Tsukiko's shoulders. "It'll be okay. She has her friends for support. You, and Yugi, Jounouchi, Ansei, Honda… even myself!"

Tsukiko smiled, a bit. "Th-thank you…" she said. "I want to be here for her. I want to stay here, until she wakes up."

Sugako smiled. "You can stay here as long as you need to."

"Thank you, again," said Tsukiko. "Once I've calmed down, I want to call Ansei and the others. Ask how they are. And if, no, _when_ Bakura wakes up, to tell them."

Meanwhile, Jounouchi, Ansei, and Hikari were walking, Malika behind them. Excellent. The Pharaoh's friends would be perfect bait. The only person missing was Tsukiko, but three people would be enough. Hell, two would work, even! Hikari was only involved in Malika's plans so she could move the Pharaoh along a bit faster. The plan would ultimately go unchanged, mostly.

"Hey, Jounouchi!" said Malika. She caught up to the others.

"What's up?" asked Jounouchi.

"Sorry to be pushy, but could you please give me some dueling advice now?" asked Malika.

"Sure!" said Jounouchi.

"I want to win at least once in Battle City," said Malika. She heard footsteps growing louder behind her. _Excellent,_ she thought. One of her henchmen.

"You still have a chance," said Jounouchi. Some more of her henchmen were behind the others. "With my advice, you might make the finals!"

"Big talk. Can you back it up?" asked Ansei.

"Leave it to me!" said Jounouchi. Someone stopped behind her. She turned around. He punched her in the face. Jounouchi fell to the ground.

"Jounouchi!" said Ansei, followed by Malika. Hikari was too shocked to speak.

Malika looked up. "What are you doing?" she asked. The henchman behind her grabbed her arms. "You must be Ghouls! You're after Jounouchi's rare cards!"

The blue-haired henchman walked up and punched Malika in the gut, then the face. "Ansei! Jounouchi! Hikari! Run!"

"Namu!" said Ansei.

Jounouchi growled. "Stop it!" she said. They paused to look at her. "Don't hurt my friend!" she yelled, delivering a right hook and an uppercut to one of them. "This is also payback for your sneak attack the other night!" The henchman was knocked to the ground. Suddenly, she realized that the others had grabbed Ansei and Hikari. "Ansei! Hikari!"

"Jounouchi…" said Ansei.

"Cowards! Let them go!" said Jounouchi.

The henchman she had knocked down got back up again. He threw a left hook, then kneed her in the stomach, knocking Jounouchi out from the sheer force.

"Jounouchi! Namu!" said Ansei.

"G-Get away…" said Hikari.

Suddenly, a song started playing. The henchman holding Ansei dug through his bag. He found a pale pink cell phone, with a Kuriboh phone charm attached. He answered it.

"Hey, Ansei!" said Tsukiko.

"Tsukiko…" said Ansei.

The henchman dropped the phone on the ground, then stomped on it and twisted his foot back and forth, crushing the device and rendering it useless.

"Hello? Ansei?" asked Tsukiko. She heard loud cracking sounds, as if plastic and glass were breaking near the speaker on the other end. She heard several beeps, as if Ansei had hung up, then silence. She put her silver and navy blue cell phone down, wide-eyed.

"S-Sugako? Ma'am?!" said Tsukiko, panicking.

"What is it, Tsukiko?" asked Sugako.

"I think something's gone horribly, _horribly_ wrong!" said Tsukiko.

"Shh…" said Sugako. "Breathe." Tsukiko did just that. "What do you think is wrong?"

"I tried calling Ansei," she said. "Somebody answered, but I heard glass and plastic cracking, and it disconnected!"

"Calm down," said Sugako. "Try waiting a bit, and calling again."

"O-Okay…" said Tsukiko. "But… but I'm afraid Ansei's phone broke… and the Ghouls or whatever they're called had to do with it…"

"Do any of your other friends have phones?" asked Sugako.

"Hikari does…" said Tsukiko.

"Then try calling her later," said Sugako.

Tsukiko gulped.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, a nurse was taking Shizu's blood pressure.

"What's up?" asked the nurse. "You look very happy today."

"My sister made it to the Battle City finals," said Shizu.

"Really? That's incredible!" said the nurse.

"Yes," said Shizu. "And I decided to go see her."

"You're ready to remove your bandages?" asked the nurse.

Shizu was briefly silent. "If I meet my sister, I'll have the courage to," he said.

Meanwhile, Honda and Shizu made their way to a train. Shizu had changed into a short-sleeved yellow shirt, pink vest, and blue shorts.

"Are you okay?" asked Honda.

"Yes," said Shizu.

"We'll arrive at Domino City in a few hours," said Honda.

Shizu lowered his head, in what _could_ be a nod but could be something worse.

"Is something wrong? Are you feeling sick?" asked Honda.

"No, I'm happy!" said Shizu. "Can I finally see my sister duel?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Honda. "You can count on me!" She gazed out the window. Otogi had said she had someplace to be, and so had left before the other two.

The two eventually found a place to sit.

"When I was told that I could remove my bandages, I became more anxious," said Shizu. "That's not good, especially since my sister was encouraging me."

"Will you be ready to remove them for her duel?" asked Honda.

"Yes," said Shizu. "I think I'll have the courage when I meet my sister."

"Who would've thought she'd be such a good sister," said Honda.

"She always gives me courage, so she's the most important person in the world for me," said Shizu.

Meanwhile, Jounouchi awoke. Her numb arms had been tied to her sides with a rope. She was bound to a chair. She heard the sound of footsteps, followed by the opening and closing of a metal door. She looked up, seeing a tall dark-skinned woman with gray eyes, the left side of her face covered in tiny symbols she could not identify, not from this distance.

"You're a Ghoul!" said Jounouchi. "What are you after?"

"It's better for you if you don't know," said the woman. "You won't understand anyway."

"Tell me anyway!" said Jounouchi. "I know you're after Yugi's rare cards. A first-rate duelist like Yugi won't go easy on you just because you took me hostage."

The woman lifted her arm, such that her outstretched palm was above and in front of Jounouchi's forehead. She said nothing.

"What are you going to do to me?" asked Jounouchi, struggling against the ropes in vain. The woman looked up at Malika, who stood behind the chair. The Millennium Rod in her hand glowed. Jounouchi let out a gasp as the Rod's power took effect. Jounouchi's gaze took on a glassy look.

Meanwhile, Mokuno, Ansei, and Hikari had awoken in a room with cold metal walls, filled with boxes.

"Is there any way to escape?" asked Mokuno. "If I can get out, I can have Kaiba Corporation crush the Ghouls."

Ansei looked up. He saw an opening in the roof, meant to let sunlight in. "You may be able to escape," he said.

"Through that opening?" asked Hikari. "But how?"

"These boxes here," said Ansei. "If we can pack enough of the full ones in a sort of pyramid shape, we can escape!"

"Hopefully this works!" said Hikari.

With that, the three got to work. They sorted the boxes by weight. The biggest, heaviest boxes would go on the bottom, arranged in blocks just tall enough for Ansei and Hikari to be able to lift Mokuno up to the next level. Once they had the first layer set up, they continued to the next phase. Mokuno would be left on top of the highest layer, as Hikari carried the boxes to Ansei, who would arrange the next layer. This continued on into the highest layers, where Mokuno was able to pitch in and Hikari could carry multiple boxes at once.

Eventually, the pyramid was high enough that Mokuno could reach the opening in the roof with one final box. Ansei heard footsteps. "Hurry, they're coming!" said Ansei.

"Okay," said Mokuno. "But Ansei, what about you?"

"I'll be fine, so tell the others, you two!"

"All right," said Hikari.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Hey!" shouted a Ghoul, one of several.

Hurry, Mokuno!" said Ansei.

"Okay!" said Mokuno, scrambling as quickly as she could to grab the edge of the opening as the Ghouls ascended.

Unfortunately, the group of Ghouls all climbing the pyramid at once threatened the stability of the structure. Ansei and Hikari yelped. It collapsed, leaving Mokuno dangling from the opening. The two fell on top of the Ghouls.

Mokuno turned back, forearms on the roof. "Ansei! Hikari!" she yelled.

Ansei and Hikari were on the boxes, the Ghouls half-buried. "Don't worry about us! Just go!" said Ansei.

Mokuno nodded. "I promise to bring help!" she said.

"How dare you!" said one of the Ghouls, grabbing Ansei's arms as another did the same to Hikari.

"Don't let the kid escape!" said the third.

_Mokuno, I'm counting on you,_ said Ansei.

Outside the warehouse, two pairs of Ghouls encountered each other.

"Find her?" asked one.

"Nothing over here," said another.

"Keep searching!" said a third, as they parted in opposite directions.

One pair ran past a garbage dump. Mokuno glanced from behind it, watching to ensure nothing happened.

_I promise to save you, Ansei and Hikari,_ thought Mokuno.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the Japanese version of Episode 70, which is what the first part of the chapter is based on, Anzu's ringtone is the second opening of the Japanese version of the show, S H U F F L E! Yes, it's in all caps and there are spaces between the letters.
> 
> I included the scene where Anzu, Jounouchi, and Mokuba are kidnapped because there's a moment where Anzu helps Mokuba escape from the place where they're being kidnapped, and I wanted to include that, because it was a cool scene. I ended up talking with a friend of mine on Tumblr to figure out what Ansei's phone being crushed would sound like on the other end from Tsukiko's point of view. I figured she'd hear plastic and glass from the phone breaking, but I didn't know what it would sound like for a call to be suddenly interrupted. We figured it would sound like what was described here.
> 
> Also, I really would like a Kuriboh phone charm.
> 
> A bit of a change from the anime was the fact that Atem went to the aquarium, and calls Ansei from a phone box. Because Atem never goes to the aquarium in the manga, which the fic is mostly based on, and never calls Anzu, and I had Tsukiko go with Sugako and Bakura to the hospital, I had Tsukiko calling Ansei instead of Atem! As such we don't have that scene in the anime where Atem and Kaiba are looking for the others and you can see them _right fucking there!_ In the background! Behind one of the cars!
> 
> I combined two chapters for this one, because one of them was half the length of my usual chapters and the other was even less than that. I also changed up the order of scenes a bit from the draft (the draft had the second part start with the warehouse scene, then the scene with Shizu and Honda, which I switched around) to work better.
> 
> I also explained the method by which the boxes were stacked, simply because it would be cool and work better pacing-wise.


End file.
